Bella's Hope
by lizbethu
Summary: AU/AH Bella faces a life-altering challenge just before graduating from Forks High School. While on her journey, she discovers things about her friends and herself that will surprise everyone. With the addition of chapter 8, now rated M for content.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

BPOV

Senior year was supposed to be a time of anticipation and excitement; young adults looking forward to bright futures and new beginnings. However, for me the future was a big fat question mark. It wasn't the typical scenario of deciding which college to go to, or what major to pick once I got there. Unfortunately, it was much more serious than that.

Mulling those thoughts in my head, I let out a big sigh as I stood in front of my locker, trying to gather myself for another Monday at Forks High School. It was a beautiful, sunny May morning. It was the week leading up to Spring Prom, so of course the hallways were lined with posters announcing the big event that Saturday. If I hadn't been so physically and emotionally drained from the past few days, it might have improved my mood. However, given the events of the last few days, prom just didn't seem so important anymore. I closed my locker, closing my eyes for a moment, bracing myself to face my friends and classes while trying to keep myself mentally together.

"Hey," came a familiar voice. I looked up and smiled at one of my best friends, Angela Weber, as she approached.

"You okay, Bella?" she asked earnestly, concern showing on her face. "You still look pretty run down. Since you weren't here on Friday, I assumed the doctor gave you something to make you feel better and you were taking a day of rest," she continued, still looking at me with genuine concern. "They should have kicked in by now, right?"

I steered her toward class as the first bell rang, avoiding answering any of her questions. "Did you find your prom dress in Port Angeles with your mom this weekend?" I asked, trying to change the direction of the conversation.

Angela immediately stopped, forcing me to turn so we were face-to-face. "Yeah, I did find a dress. But you're avoiding my questions, Bell. You're worrying me," she stated quietly. I contemplated telling her right then, but quickly decided to wait. I knew I would never make it through the day if she knew.

"We'll talk after school. I'll come over and you can show me your new dress, okay?" I told her, trying to keep my emotions in check. I prayed that she would understand and not push. Seeing her slight scowl, I figured I could be honest with her about part of it. "Please, Angela, I just can't talk about this right now. If you wait until this afternoon, I promise I'll explain everything," I stated beseechingly to her.

I could see the disappointment in her eyes, and something else just under the surface. Was it fear? Finally, she agreed to wait. "All right, Bells," she said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "But right after school, no changing plans."

I nodded, relieved. We continued on through the hallways, sliding into our assigned seats of Calculus class just as the final bell rang. Jasper, sitting right in front of me, turned to give me a smile and a wink as I opened up my text book. "What's up, Bells," he asked light-heartedly, turning back toward the front of the class as Mr. Powell entered the classroom, attendance sheet in hand. "We missed you at the beach Saturday night," he whispered back over his shoulder. "Ask me later who I talked to half the night," he demanded, throwing a devilish grin at me before opening his own book.

Good old Jasper, I thought as Mr. Powell started his lecture. Since I had already reviewed the material over the weekend in an attempt to escape my new reality, I started to think more about what I was going to say to one of my oldest friends in Forks.

I'd known Jasper Hale since we were four years old and he had moved into the house across the street from us. Thinking back to when Mom and Dad were still married and the three of us lived there, it seemed like an alternate reality. It now was just Charlie's house as Renee lived in Arizona with her second husband, Phil. I smiled as I thought about how through all the years of going back and forth between Phoenix and Forks, Jasper was always a constant for me, no matter how much time we spent apart. When I had finally decided to live full-time with Dad in Forks, Jasper made the transition easier than expected, introducing me to everyone and making sure I was always included in all the "cool" gatherings. I laughed to myself, thinking back to the fact that we had our first kiss together back in the seventh grade. We quickly realized that it felt more like kissing a sibling than being anything romantic. Most people thought it was odd that I was so close to Jasper instead of his sister, Rosalie, who was only one year younger than us, but I had nothing in common with the girl, and thus never grew close with her. Plus, Jasper always had a way of making everything seem okay, calming any situation and being the voice of reason. Jasper and I were even going to the prom together since neither was dating anyone, and it was fulfilling a pact we had made freshman year. I suspected that he had wanted to ask Alice Cullen, who's older brother was dating his sister. Alice was one of the prettiest, most attractive girls in the senior class, but he had insisted that a promise was a promise, and he would take me to the dance. With what I had to go through starting next week, I actually was looking forward to the dance and hanging out with friends.

After Calculus class the rest of the day went by quicker than I expected. Angela kept giving me odd looks, and even Jasper had been looking at me with curiosity, but never prying. The guy had the patience of a saint, and had always let me share things with him in my own time. Jessica Stanley was the hardest to deal with. The girl had no tact, and kept asking me all day what was up, or telling me I looked tired, or seemed different. I finally saw Angela pull her aside and say something to her. I don't know what she said, but it was enough to get her to back off.

About fifteen minutes after school ended, I pulled my truck up in front of Angela's house. I had asked Jasper to come with me, hoping to be able to explain the situation only once to my two closest friends instead of having to do it multiple times and answer all the same questions over and over.

"Is there anything you want to tell me before we go in to see Angela?" Jasper asked before opening the passenger door of my beat up pick up truck.

I thought for a moment, wondering if I should just get it over with finally, or wait. Jasper and Angela both meant the world to me, and I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by making one of them feel like I trusted the other more. I really needed them both to get through this, so I finally shook my head. "No, I'd rather go in and talk to both you and Ang at the same time."

"You're not moving back to Phoenix after graduation, are you?" he looked worriedly at me.

I let out a light laugh, wishing that was the extent of the news I had to give him. "No, I'm going to be staying in Forks. I'm not going back to live with my mom. But I think she will be here for part of the summer."

"Oh," Jasper replied, looking relieved. "Cool. I could use a dose of Renee this summer. She always makes me feel so responsible and grown up," he finished, giving me a wink.

My mom, Renee, was a sweet woman and a doting mother. However, she was a bit self-indulgent and almost child-like at times. I often felt more like the mother than the daughter. Jasper had come to Phoenix to visit me and Mom a few times over the years we had known each other and had seen first hand what Renee was like. I had worried about people judging Renee, especially since my dad was the Chief of Police in Forks, so well liked. I figured they would pick sides and dislike her because of how fond they were of Charlie. But the small town occupants were surprisingly forgiving and open, so had never made me feel awkward about my living situation and splitting time between my parents. Thinking of my mom now had me recalling the phone call Charlie and I made on Thursday afternoon from the Forks Hospital. It had been the hardest call I had ever had to make to Renee, harder than the time Charlie had found me and Jasper smoking cigarettes behind our house in the eighth grade. I wished the recent call had been for something as trivial as teenage rebellion.

"Let's get inside, Jazz," I said, using my favorite nickname for him, snapping out of my revelry once we reached the front door of Angela's house..

She let us in the house immediately, obviously watching for our arrival. Of course, given how loud my pick up was, I was sure the entire neighborhood knew of our arrival. Upon seeing Jasper with me, Angela got a look of sheer dread on her face. I suspected she knew the news wasn't good. I could only imagine what they were thinking.

We all settled together on the wraparound sofa in the family room a few minutes later, soda cans in hand. Jasper had already opened his, taking a drink while he waited for me to begin. Angela was sitting on the other side of me, staring, looking as though she were willing me to start speaking, her soda can untouched. Feeling the scrutiny from them, I simply looked down at my drink, still unopened, suddenly not wanting to be there, not wanting to face them, and not wanting to share with them my news. However, it had to be done. The doctor had told us having friends and family for support would help improve my chances, so I knew I had to do this.

I looked up at my friends, gazing thoughtfully first at Angela's worried look, then at Jasper's calming smile. I exhaled slowly, realizing that I had been holding my breath. Here goes nothing, I thought.

"I got the results back on Thursday of all the tests they ran the week before at the hospital. They know what's wrong," I stated calmly, trying to keep my breathing steady.

"And?" Angela prodded impatiently. I looked at Jasper, who was no longer smiling, but scowling instead.

"I…" I hesitated.

"I've got cancer."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

BPOV

I glanced back and forth between Jasper and Angela, wondering if they had heard me, or wondering if I had actually said the words out loud that had been playing over and over in my head since the doctor's appointment four days ago. Then I saw Angela's face start to crumble, tears streaking down her cheeks behind her glasses, her hand coming up to stifle the sobs that were starting to escape her mouth and I knew that they had heard.

I just stared at Angela, afraid to look at Jasper, somehow fearing that once it had registered on his face, it would become real. I jumped a bit, then, when I realized that he was pulling me into an embrace, his body silently shaking around me. I could hear the restraint he was trying to use in his voice when he finally spoke, still holding me to him so I couldn't see him.

"We will be here with you through whatever you have to go through, Bells, I promise, right Ang?" he stated over his shoulder to the other girl. Angela had stopped sobbing, but the tears were still coming down her face as she stepped up to us and wrapped her arms around me and Jasper.

"You better believe it, Bella, we are going to do whatever we can to help you, and we are going to beat this, do you understand?" she said frantically, willing her words to be true. The three of us stood there like that quietly for several minutes, words failing.

Angela suddenly took a step back, looking me in the face, thankfully losing the shocked look, but now frowning in question instead as she wiped her tears away. "Does Renee know? And why didn't you call me Thursday to tell me? You spent all weekend just sitting home with this weighing on you? Bella, why didn't you call one of us?" Her questions flew out of her mouth in an almost angry tirade. I physically flinched back, expecting this reaction from Angela, yet not knowing how best to respond to her questions. I finally looked to Jasper, helplessly, hoping he could help me out, praying that he wasn't angry with me as well.

Finally having composed himself and wiping the tears from his face, Jasper released me, taking a step between me and Angela protectively. I couldn't see the expression he had on his face, but whatever he was trying to convey to Angela, she suddenly slumped her shoulders forward, looking a bit dejected. My heart went out to her, understanding the frustration of the unknown, realizing I had been in that same state of mind just a few days ago.

"Hold on Ang," Jasper said quietly, extending a hand forward to soothingly grasp her shoulder. "This is a big shock for us, but Bella is the one who has to live with it. Let's just take a deep breath and calm down," he finished, leading Angela to sit back down on the sofa.

Angela nodded her head absently, the look of shock coming back as she watched Jasper lead me to sit between the two of them. I sat there, head down again, wondering where I should start, afraid of angering them more, hoping something I said would help wipe the look of devastation off of Angela's face. I hated to see my friends upset, and especially hated it if I was the reason, no matter how out of my control the reason was.

I could feel them staring at me. Suddenly, I felt Angela take my hand, giving it a light squeeze. Looking up at her, I saw a hint of a smile, knowing she was telling me that she was okay, and ready to hear the details. It gave me the strength I needed to continue on.

"The doctor said if I had to pick a cancer, I at least picked a beatable one. They said it's acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL. It's the most common form of leukemia in the 20-and-under age group, but also the one with the highest survival rate."

"So is that what was causing all your bruising and headaches?" Angela asked, bringing up some of the symptoms that had prompted me to go to the doctor in the first place.

"Yeah," I answered, "that, the fatigue, and the aches and pains I was having in my legs. It was all related." I looked at Jasper, who was now holding my other hand, staring down at it with a look of concentration. He finally looked up at me.

"Okay, Bells, so what's the plan? Have the doctors figured out your treatment course yet? Do they know the long-term affects? Are they even equipped to handle this type of cancer here at the Forks Hospital?" Of course Jasper was already thinking of the solutions, of fixing the problem, which was my body attacking itself in this scenario. His look of sheer determination gave me hope. It was a welcome feeling after the last few days.

"I am so glad I have you guys as my best friends," I said vehemently, looking from one to the other, realizing too late that the tears were now coming against my will.

Jasper and Angela both reached to me at the same time, offering words of comfort and support. Telling them had finally made it real for me. This was not something that was just going to go away. But for the first time since I heard those horrible words from the doctor, I didn't feel quite so alone and hopeless. As my breathing calmed, they just continued to hold me, being patience and supportive. I finally wiped my tears and decided to just go head first into the information I had so far.

"The good thing is that Forks Hospital is very well situated for this cancer. Alice's dad, Dr. Cullen, is one of the region's leading oncologists, and was brought in by my pediatrician to help make the diagnosis. He already had a plan written up to share with us from the moment Dr. Stahmer gave us the news. He even helped us call Renee from the doctor's office and explain what was going on."

"Oh my God," Jasper interrupted. "Renee must have been freaking out. How was he even able to get a word in edgewise?"

I laughed lightly at Jasper's comment, not at all surprised by his reaction about my mom. "Actually, Renee took it rather well, even better than Charlie. She started asking questions about how the diagnosis was made, if we should get a second opinion, stuff like that. I was actually impressed," I responded.

"Wow," Angela stated. "That doesn't sound like Renee."

"I know," I replied, shaking my head in astonishment as I thought back to the conversation. "She was really calm and collected about it. I mean, at first she was insisting that I go down to Phoenix for my treatment, but" I quickly continued, noting the looks of shock on their faces, "Dr. Cullen assured her that there is no reason I can't get the help I need right here in Forks. I guess he has some colleagues from Seattle that he has already consulted with, who are world renowned or something, so now all that has to happen is to start the treatment."

Jasper, ever the practical one, quickly pulled a notebook from his backpack that he had brought in with him when we had arrived. "So when does treatment start, and how long does it last?" he asked, pen ready above a blank paper.

Fully expecting this, I reached under the coffee table in front of them and pulled out my own backpack, removing and opening a brand new folder, handing each of them a stapled packet. "I'll save you the trouble, Jazz. I figured you guys would want to know what was going on, so I went into the station with Charlie this weekend and made some extra copies of the treatment plan for you guys."

Jasper immediately started reviewing the document, first paging through it to the end, then coming back to the first page and reading intently. Angela put hers down, turning to me.

"Speaking of Charlie, how is he handling all this? You said Renee was handling it better than him before," Angela asked, concern written all over her face.

I took a deep breath, thinking of my father. My dad was like me. He was very private and kept things inside a lot. "Charlie is…" I hesitated, trying to figure out how best to put it, "Charlie. He's not saying much, so I'm not really sure what he's thinking. When Dr. Stahmer gave us the news, I thought Charlie was going to rip the poor guys head off. He started demanding to know how this happened, what caused it. He wasn't upset, he was downright angry, almost shaking. Poor Dr. Stahmer was dumbstruck. I think he was afraid Charlie was going to pull his gun on him if he moved."

"Whoa," Jasper breathed, turning his attention away from the paper in his hands. "What happened then?"

"Luckily Dr. Cullen got him calmed down, explaining that this type of," I hesitated at the next word, "cancer, it isn't hereditary, just a slight mutation in the cells that could happen in anyone. Charlie finally calmed down after that. But it was scary. I mean, I've seen Charlie angry before, but not like this."

"Maybe he thought it was his fault," Angela spoke quietly. Jasper and I both looked at her questioningly. "I mean, when Bobby Newman was killed in that motorcycle accident, everyone said his parents felt like it was their fault for letting him get the bike in the first place. It wasn't their fault that he hit that deer; it was a total freak accident. I just think it's natural that parents feel things like this are somehow their fault, you know?"

It was like a light bulb had gone on in my head at Angela's theory. "That must be it, Ang. I don't know how I didn't think of that myself," I continued, feeling some relief knowing that I could make things right with Charlie now that I knew what I was dealing with. "I'm so glad you guys know," I said, taking a hand from each of them to show my gratitude and feeling my heart constrict at the wave of emotion.

"Hey," Jasper replied, squeezing my hand. "We will be here for you no matter what, all right, Bells?"

"Yep," Angela reinforced. "Just tell us what you need, and we'll be there," she finished, smiling reassuringly.

I smiled at my two friends, throwing out yet another prayer to God for letting me have such good people in my life. I felt like I had been praying a lot these last few days.

"Well, I don't start my chemotherapy until Monday since they're waiting for some additional test results to determine exactly which medication they should give me, but I've got a lot to do before then. I've got to let all my teachers know so we can plan out my course instruction for my classes for the rest of the year," I stated, going through the mental list I had started compiling in my head over the weekend. Jasper was writing furiously, thankfully. "I'm still hoping to graduate with everyone next month, and given the treatment plan, I should be in between chemo treatments, so hopefully I'll feel up to marching with you guys."

"Bells, once we make the full list, why don't we go over it and figure out what can be handled by someone other than you. Then we can get it done more quickly. Have you thought about how you want to let people know what's going on? You know once the teachers start hearing about it, word will spread fast," Jasper stated, turning to his notebook and pen once again.

"I've actually thought about that," I replied, thinking once more of the plan I had concocted in my head late Saturday night. "I wanted to enjoy my last "normal" day today, plus I wanted to let you guys know first, but I'd rather get the word out right away to get it over with so by the time prom comes around, there won't be so many questions and pitying looks from people."

"Oh God, prom is Saturday. I completely forgot!" Angela said, leaning back on the sofa dejectedly. "Are you up for that, Bella?" she asked with genuine concern.

"I definitely want to go to prom now," I stated, affectionately giving a shoulder bump to Jasper. "I want it to be my last hurrah before I start the chemo."

"You've got it, Bells," Jasper responded quietly.

The three of us spent the next hour talking and planning, even laughing at times. I was so relieved to no longer hold the burden of the news to myself.

When Angela's mom got home from work Jasper and I made our exit, going out to the truck to head home. Angela was going to tell her parents after dinner that night, which was the first part of our plan to "get the word out". Mrs. Weber was President of the PTA, head of the Church Choir; basically one of the most well-connected women in town. We knew once she had heard about it, most everyone would know before school tomorrow, so it would save me a lot of trouble of having to explain to people myself.

Pulling up to the house, I immediately noticed Charlie's cruiser in the driveway. Jasper turned to me. "You want me to go in with you, Bells?" he asked gently.

I smiled at him, remembering yet again why he was one of my closest friends. "No, I've got this one covered, but thanks." I leaned over and hugged him, thankful again for his support.

We got out of the truck and I was just about to turn up the sidewalk to enter the house when I remembered something from earlier that day. "So Jazz," I yelled, getting him to turn back to me, "who did you spend half the night talking to on Saturday?"

Jasper laughed, looking down at his feet shyly, obviously remembering something fondly. "It's no big deal, Bells, just Alice Cullen."

"Really," I said, feeling more like my old self. "So is Alice going to be at prom on Saturday?"

"Yes," he responded, "yes, she is."

I looked at him with disappointment, knowing he was starting to have a thing for the girl. "I'm sorry to hear that." It suddenly dawned on me that he didn't look very disappointed given the grin on his face. "You don't look very upset that she's going to prom with someone else," I stated slowly.

"I'm not," he said, suddenly letting his grin widen from ear to ear. "She's going with her brother. He just got home from college."

Throwing a look of confusion at him, I had to ask. "I thought Emmett was going to the prom with Rosalie?"

"Not Emmett, Bells. Edward. Edward Cullen will be taking Alice to the prom," he stated, still grinning widely.

"Ah, so that explains the shit-eating grin on your face," I said, laughing easily.

"Part of it," Jasper yelled, turning away from me to start back toward his house again.

I looked at him with a frown. "Hey, what do you mean 'part of it'?" Suddenly I was highly suspicious of that wide grin on his face.

Grabbing the screen door handle, Jasper yelled one more thing before laughing and walking into his house, not waiting for my reaction. "We're going to be going to the prom with Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Edward – a triple date."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

BPOV

I walked into the house, mind reeling upon hearing the news that we were going to be part of a triple date, with the Cullen's, no less. And if Emmett and Rosalie would be a couple, and no doubt Jasper would be giving most of his attention to Alice, that left me and Edward. I'm sure the last thing Edward Cullen wanted to do on a break from college was hang out with a bunch of high school kids. I let out a deep sigh, dread rolling down my back. I could not think about the whole prom thing right now. Right now I needed to talk to Charlie.

"Bella, you okay?" Charlie asked, causing me to jump at his voice coming from the living room. "Sorry," he stated quickly, seeing my look of alarm as he shut the TV off and approached me. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Don't worry about it, Dad," I replied, taking a step toward him and wrapping my arms around his chest, probably surprising the heck out of him. We weren't usually a touchy-feely family, but somehow it seemed the right thing to do. I sensed the hesitation in him, but was relieved when he finally wrapped his arms around me in return.

"Did you get to talk to Angela and Jasper today," he asked quietly.

I took a step back, smiling up at him. "They were really, great, Dad. I feel a lot better about the whole thing after talking with them," I answered honestly.

Charlie stared at me for a moment. I hadn't looked at myself in a mirror all day, but if I looked anything like I felt, I'm sure he could see the fatigue in my face. "You look pretty beat, Bells. I can make dinner if you want to go upstairs and rest," he stated with obvious concern in his voice.

"No," I answered, "I want to make dinner, Dad. I'm not sure how much take out we'll be ordering once Mom comes next week, so you better get your fill of my cooking now," I said, laughing. "But before I make dinner, I wanted to talk," I stated, leading Charlie back into the living room. We sat down face to face.

"Dad, I think I know why you were so upset on Thursday at the doctor's office," I started, looking Charlie straight in the eye. Charlie immediately looked down at his hands. I know it was a painful memory for him, but I had to get this out in the open.

"I'm not real proud of my behavior, Bella. I know I overreacted. It was just a lot to swallow, that's all," he finished, still looking down.

I took a deep breath, and then reached out to touch his arm, which drew his attention to my face. "Dad, this isn't anybody's fault. You and Mom didn't do anything wrong or subject me to anything dangerous that caused this. I have spent hours this weekend looking at what this disease is all about, and on every single web site I found, and in every book, it clearly stated that there is no definite known cause for leukemia. And no matter what happens, I don't want you to feel like this is your fault. I won't be able to handle that, Dad, do you understand?" I could see his eyes fill with tears as he reached out to hug me tightly to him.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he said softly. "I don't want you to be worrying about your old dad. You need to focus all your energy on getting better, okay?" he finished, pulling away and looking me straight in the eyes to show his sincerity.

"Don't be sorry, Dad," I quickly assured him. "I'm not mad, I just want to make sure you tell me how you're feeling. You know how the doctor told me I had to be completely honest about my symptoms from the treatment and not try to be stoic and grin and bear it?" He nodded his head quickly, wiping away his tears. "I need you to do the same thing. I need you to be honest about how you're feeling. I don't want you to keep this stuff inside. It's just not good for you, or anyone else. And you've got to open up to the people at the station. I know they'll want to do whatever they can to help, so let them."

Charlie smiled then, giving me another quick squeeze. "How did I get so lucky to get you as a daughter, Bella?" he asked with obvious affection.

"You're just saying that because you know I have a huge steak marinating in the refrigerator to make you tonight," I stated, laughing. Another wave of comfort went through me. Getting up to head to the kitchen to make dinner, I really felt that things were going to be okay.

The next couple hours went by as usual in the Swan household. Over dinner I shared with Charlie my conversation with Angela and Jasper, and how I was planning on telling everyone. Charlie seemed almost as relieved as me that the word would spread without either one of us having to lift a finger. When the phone rang at around 8 PM I wasn't surprised to hear Angela's voice on the line, relaying to me how her conversation went with her mother. Once we hung up with each other the phone seemed to ring endlessly until about 10 PM, when Charlie decided we'd taken enough well-wishes from friends and needed to get some rest, thereby unplugging the phone and alerting the station that if there were any emergencies overnight someone would have to come out to the house to get him personally. I called Renee to check in before going to sleep, and to let her know the phones were going to be turned off, so not to worry. My mom wasn't too pleased that she wouldn't be able to contact us if she wanted, but understood that it was necessary, and only temporary.

Charlie came in after I had settled in for the night, tucking the covers up around me and giving me a kiss on the forehead. It was reminiscent of our bed-time ritual from years ago, when I was little, and it brought a sense of peace as he left wishing me sweet dreams.

As I lay there, I walked back through the afternoon, recalling my conversation with Jasper and Angela, and then clearing things up with Charlie. It had been a productive day, and I felt much better about everything after having shared my news. It was emotionally draining to keep thinking about everything that would be happening come next Monday, so I shifted gears and went back to my conversation with Jasper just before heading into the house that evening.

A triple date for prom! I didn't see that one coming. I had worried that Alice would go to the prom with someone else, but I had hoped it was one of the guys from the football team or hockey team. They seemed to be more interested in partying with their buddies as the year came to an end than in dating, so I figured Jasper would have a good chance of getting some quality time with Alice at the after parties and then I could inconspicuously step out and head home fairly early in the evening. However, with my chemo looming on the horizon for the following week, I wanted to get the most out of this weekend as possible.

I had hoped we could go with Angela and Ben, but I knew Jessica had already asked them to double with her and Mike, and Jasper would be dying by the end of dinner if we were part of that group. He was a saint, but Jessica and her lap dog, Mike Newton, were more than anyone could handle. It was only because Ben, Angela's boyfriend, worked at Mike's parent's store that they were going together in the first place. Ben was only a junior and still had to work all next year there, so didn't want to do anything to tick off Mike and lose his job. Good part-time jobs were hard to find in a small town like Forks, so I didn't blame him one bit for sucking it up. Plus, Angela was one of those people who could get along with anyone, so she'd be okay hanging with them for one night.

My thoughts came back to our group – basically the Cullen kids, the Hale kids, and me. After pairing up the happy couples again, that left me with Edward. I felt my face get warm just at the thought of having to spend some one-on-one time with the most popular of all the Cullen kids.

The eldest Cullen sibling, Edward had graduated two years ago from Forks High and was now attending the University of Washington in Seattle. He had been valedictorian, class president, and captain of the basketball team – thus one of the most popular guys in school. I, along with most of the rest of the student body, was pretty intimidated by him. Between the looks, brains, wealth, and overall "coolness", just being around any one of the Cullen kids was a pretty big blow to one's self-confidence. To be hanging out with all three could be mortal. I laughed, almost relieved at feeling like a normal kid again, worrying about being around the popular kids, not sticking my foot in my mouth or falling onto my face in front of them. It was nice to be worrying about normal stuff.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no reason to worry about hanging out with the Cullen's. Alice had always been nice, although she seemed much more interested in my classes and general interests since noticing Jasper. He had gone through a huge growth spurt this last summer, and I noted that a lot of the more popular girls in our class suddenly took notice of him this year. Fortunately for me, he was still the same old, unassuming Jasper. He loved Harry Potter, Star Wars, and knew who his true friends were.

Lauren Mallory had been one girl who had taken notice of him that had made me nervous. She was all sweet and innocent in front of the guys, but then a total back-stabbing witch when it came to the girls of Forks High School. She had a little following, her court, as I called them, that would do her bidding at the drop of a hat. I felt really bad for some of them because she treated them so poorly, but figured it was their own choice.

Although Alice was popular, she was not part of Lauren's little following. She was kind of the anti-Lauren. Alice was head of the dance team; Lauren was the head of the cheerleading squad. Alice had been homecoming queen; Lauren was expected to be prom queen. Alice was first chair violin in the school orchestra; Lauren was first chair clarinet in the school band. I laughed suddenly, realizing it was almost like they lived in parallel universes. They had some overlap in friends, but it seemed most were friends with Alice out of respect, whereas with Lauren it was more out of fear. I suspected that Lauren never challenged Alice to the status of "most popular girl" in the school because she knew she would lose if push came to shove. The thing that was most refreshing about Alice was that she never acted like she was super popular. She was nice to everyone and I had never heard her say a bad thing about anyone, ever. She would actually be perfect for Jasper, I thought with surprise.

Even Emmett was a real sweetheart. I had seen him come and go while spending time at the Hale house last year when he had started dating Rosalie, and he had always been very nice and talkative. Rosalie was another one who had brains and beauty, and could have been like Lauren and used it to her advantage to power over the other girls, but she didn't. I thought Emmett had a lot to do with that. She would volunteer at the hospital with him in the children's ward, telling stories or putting on puppet shows with him. I never would have pictured Rosalie doing any of that without Emmett's influence. Even though he was now at the University of Washington with his older brother, he still was very dedicated to their relationship, visiting at least once a month, even more often once the football season had ended. He was just as tall as Edward, but much stockier and had been All-State in both Football and Hockey in high school last year as a senior. The Hale's had gone to a number of the U of W football home games with Dr. and Mrs. Cullen this last fall, and I had been relieved to learn they were very kind and generous with my neighbors, despite the difference in social class.

Then there was Edward. The last time I had seen him had been last summer for Emmett's graduation. The Cullen's had hosted an elaborate party for friends, but there had been a private catered dinner beforehand for family and close friends, to which the Hale's had been invited. Jasper had asked me to go along as his "plus one". The whole Cullen family was there, and Edward had his girlfriend at the time there, too. She was someone he had met at college apparently. I didn't remember her name, but she was pretty much like Lauren. She was really nice when Edward or his parents were around, but had been downright rude when I had run into her while exiting the bathroom at one point during dinner. She got right in my face, claiming she didn't like how I was looking at Edward, and that he would never be interested in a wall-flower like me, so I better get over it. She had even gone so far as to tell me that I better watch my back that night if I knew what was good for me. I was completely floored at her words, especially since I had barely looked at him the entire night. I remembered it had been bothering me all that evening, and Jasper had finally asked me what was wrong. When I told him, he was pretty upset. We ended up leaving the party early, went bowling with Angela, Ben, and some other friends, so it turned out to be a really fun night. Jasper told me the next day that Rosalie was upset because she thought it was rude we left early, but totally understood and forgave us right away once she heard what had happened. She must have told Emmett or something, because a few days later I got a call from Edward apologizing for the girl's behavior, and assuring me he would not be in a relationship with someone as rude and insulting as her. I was so floored I could barely say anything to him. I ended up saying "thanks" and then we hung up. I ended up going to Phoenix the following day to spend my usual month during the summer with Renee and Phil. By the time I got back, he had already gone back to school early for some internship, and had barely been back since. It sounded like he spent most of his weekends working, so didn't come back when Emmett would come to visit Rosalie. I was surprised that he had even agreed to go to the prom since he would be so much older than the rest of the kids there. But from the sounds of it, I think both Edward and Emmett watched out for their little sister.

I looked at the clock and realized I had been laying there for an hour thinking about the Cullen's and prom. I had completely forgotten about the phone calls that had been coming in that evening, and what they were for. Not ready to go back to that reality, I kept thinking of Edward and his family, losing myself in those thoughts and letting myself drift off to sleep more peacefully than I had done for several nights.

**NOTE: Next chapter will be from Edwards' Point of View!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

EPOV

Emmett and I had just come in from our trip to Port Angeles to pick up our tuxedoes for the prom when I heard Alice talking quietly on the phone in Dad's study off the front foyer. "How much you want to bet it's Jasper," I asked Emmett, motioning toward the doorway.

Emmett laughed right away. "I'm not going to bet against that." As we hung the coat bags in the front closet, he turned to me, looking thoughtful. "Do you think it's going to be weird if she starts dating Rosalie's brother? I mean, I like the guy and all, but I'm not real thrilled to think of double dating with my little sister," he finished, giving a little mock shiver for effect.

I laughed at his gesture, clapping him on the back as he started up the stairs to his bedroom, most likely to give Rosalie a call before turning in for the night. Even though we were home from school, there was still a month left before the end of the year at Forks High School, so Emmett had been keeping his distance from Rosalie on school nights so as not to upset either set of parents.

I went to the door of the study to make a smooching face at Alice in hopes to get her to crack up while on the phone, but was brought up short when I saw tears on her face.

"I know how much she means to you, so whatever I can do to help, you just ask, even if it's just to talk to someone. I mean it, Jasper," Alice said quietly into the phone, not yet aware of my presence in the doorway. What was going on, I thought to myself, quickly coming into the room and placing my hand on my sister's shoulder, trying to offer her comfort for whatever was causing her to be so upset.

Alice said good-bye to Jasper, then was up and in my arms, crying softly. I just held her, trying to speak soothingly to her, worried about what was upsetting her. She finally calmed enough where I felt comfortable to pull her away from me and sit her down on the leather sofa in the room.

"Alice, what's going on?" I asked quietly, pushing a box of tissue toward her from the table in front of us. She dried her eyes, grabbing another tissue and wringing it in her hands as she spoke.

"Do you remember Jasper Hale's friend, Bella Swan?" she asked me, looking for some recognition in my eyes at the name. I immediately felt my stomach drop at the name, knowing full well who Bella Swan was, more so than anyone in my family realized. Had she been hurt somehow? I was trying to recall Alice's exact words to Jasper from when I first came into the room. Realizing from Alice's look that I had not yet responded to her question, I quickly gave a nod of my head.

"Yeah," I added, "isn't that the friend he brought to Emmett's graduation party last summer?" I knew full well that it was, but for some reason felt compelled to guard just how well I remembered the brown-haired, brown-eyed girl.

Alice gave a sniffle, trying to keep her composure over whatever news she had just heard from Jasper. I suddenly became impatient at her emotions, just wanting to know what was the matter. "What is it, Alice?" I asked a bit too harshly. I closed my eyes, letting out a small sigh, trying to be more patient at her despair.

"She just told Jasper tonight that she has cancer. Dad is actually her doctor as of last week," she finished weakly. "She starts chemo next Monday."

I felt a rush of air escape me, as if someone had sucker punched me in the gut. I tried not to double over from the pain I felt in my chest at the news. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Are they sure that it's cancer? Do they know what kind? What's the prognosis?" I flung the questions quickly at Alice, one after the other, not allowing her any time to respond.

Alice looked at me quizzically, suddenly taking full notice of how I was reacting to the news. "I'm not sure about all the details, Edward. Jasper just called me because he was upset. She's been his best friend forever, so he's pretty torn up about it. I didn't want to pry too much, so didn't get into all that." She kept staring at me, trying to read the emotions I was keeping at bay.

"Of course you guys weren't discussing that stuff," I quickly said. "So did he say how she's doing?"

Alice shared her conversation with me. The one piece that had me thinking was the fact that the plans for prom were still a go. I felt relief at hearing that, knowing that if Bella had been suffering, the last thing she would want to do was go to her prom. At least she must be feeling well enough to be going to school and hanging out with her friends. "Nobody deserves to go through anything like that, but it seems even more tragic because it's Bella Swan. She's one of the nicest people I've ever met, and from what Jasper shared, it sounds like she's more concerned about how her family and friends are handling the news than what she's going to have to go through for her treatment," Alice finished, shaking her head.

I nodded my head, in total agreement with her. I had remembered Bella as being a bright, kind girl my senior year at Forks High School. Forks was a small town, so even if you didn't run in the same circles as other kids in school, you pretty much knew everything about everybody. Bella Swan fit that scenario, more so because she was the police chief's daughter. I had seen kids in school with parents who were in a position of power in town use it to their advantage. That had never happened with Bella. She was kind to everyone, and I had never heard a harsh word out of her. It was because of her…goodness, I guess, that made me so irate when I had heard what Jennifer, my ex-girl friend, had said to her last year at Emmett's graduation party. I couldn't believe it when Emmett had told me why Rosalie's brother and Bella had left the party early. What was worse was when I confronted Jennifer about it, she actually seemed proud of herself for how she treated the younger girl. I was completely shocked. I had never seen that side of Jennifer before. I had abruptly broken off our relationship. The only thing that shocked me more than Jennifer's behavior was that I realized that I _had_ been looking at Bella that night at the graduation dinner. I had even felt a slight twinge of jealousy at how close she seemed to be with Rosalie's brother.

It was finally Alice, my pixie sister, who had insisted that I call Bella to apologize for Jennifer's behavior. I knew it was more for Jasper's sake than Bella's, but I was actually looking forward to speaking with her. What I didn't expect was the awkwardness I felt once I got on the phone with her. I felt like a freshman in high school talking to the homecoming queen. My tongue was tied, my palms were sweaty, and my mind was a complete blank. Bella, who I knew was a person of few words herself, was kind and accepted my apology, thanking me for the call. Then, it was over. I learned a few days later that she had left Forks for the summer to stay with her mom, so tried to push the girl out of my head. I had been doing a good job of it until Alice brought up her dilemma about prom at dinner the weekend that she and my parents had come over to Seattle to move me and Emmett back home a few weeks ago. She had been asked to prom by a couple of jocks, but no one that interested her. My mother, Esme, had actually suggested that I take Alice to the prom since she wouldn't go with any of the other senior boys. I suspected that she knew of Alice's feelings for Jasper, and also knew that Jasper was taking someone else to the dance, per Rosalie. It wasn't until Alice had mentioned that it was Bella Swan that Jasper was taking that I agreed to go with her, unexpectedly to them and to myself.

"I've got to go tell Mom. I'm going to see if she can take me, Rosalie and Bella to Port Angeles to the day spa on Saturday before the dance. I want to make Saturday a wonderful day for Bella if she's got to be subjected to chemo starting next week," Alice finished, pulling me out of my thoughts of the girl in question.

"That sounds really nice, Alice," I mumbled distractedly, getting up to go to my own room as she left to go look for our mother. I almost ran into Emmett as I passed his room since he was charging out of his door. The look on his face told me he had just spoken to Rosalie and had heard the news as well.

Seeing my expression, he quickly surmised I had heard it too. "Man, I cannot believe it about Bella Swan," he said breathlessly. "I can't imagine having to face something like that at such a young age," he finished, a glazed look in his eyes.

I just nodded my head, sweeping past him in a state of shock myself. As I entered my room, I flipped on my stereo, letting the notes of Bach float around me as I collapsed on my bed, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. What could Bella be thinking right now, I thought to myself. Was she scared? That was a dumb question, I replied to myself. Of course she was scared. Did she feel alone right now? Did she want someone to talk to? Did she want a shoulder to cry on, or someone to hold her? Did she feel any hope for her future? I felt a dull ache in my chest at the thought of her suffering any of those thoughts. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to try to hold back the emotions that were surging through me.

Suddenly Saturday held an entirely new meaning to me now. I had been excited about seeing Bella and hanging out with her at the prom before, but now I needed to see her there, needed to be by her. I wanted to do whatever I could to help her. Suddenly, I wanted to be that someone she wanted to talk to. I wanted to be that shoulder for her to cry on. I wanted to be that someone to hold her when she was afraid or feeling alone. I wanted to be everything to her. I wanted to be Bella's hope…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

BPOV

I rolled out of bed on Saturday morning, cringing at the sound of my alarm clock. What was wrong with this picture, I asked myself. However, Alice had been insistent that Rosalie and I be picked up no later than 8:30 AM to head to Port Angeles to get our "spa day" in before getting ready for the prom this afternoon.

I hit the snooze button, calculating in my head how much time I needed to get up, shower, throw some comfortable clothes on, and eat a light breakfast. Looking at the clock, I realized I still had some time before having to get out of bed, so I laid there, thinking back to all that had transpired over the last several days.

I had been pleasantly surprised at how great everyone had been at school on that first day after everyone learned about my cancer. Angela had still been getting teary-eyed that first day on and off, but by Thursday she was pretty much back to her old self. By Friday the hot topic was back to the prom, which was a huge relief to me.

Another surprise I had were the Cullen's. Alice had literally come marching into school that Tuesday morning with an entire agenda for me for the week. It was her "pre-prom checklist", as she called it. It included dinner on Tuesday with me and Rosalie to determine what type of dress I should get. Then Wednesday was a trip to Port Angeles to get the dress for prom. Thursday was the mock hair and makeup appointments, and thankfully Friday was her day to plan their after-prom party that Dr. and Mrs. Cullen were hosting, which translated to my day of rest.

The trip to Port Angeles had been the most memorable evening of all of them. Interestingly enough, Edward had driven the three of us that afternoon. He was acting as the token "guy opinion" for the dress decision. At first I had been extremely self-conscious at having him there while I tried on dress after dress. However, after a while he just became part of the dress "judge panel", with the three of them offering either a nod or shake of the head in response to each dress I came out with. I was pleased to realize that Edward and I had pretty much the same taste in what worked for me. I smiled to myself as I remembered the last dress that I tried on. It was an elegant navy blue dress that had a bodice that criss-crossed over the bust all the way around and dropping low in the back. The waistline was a loose empire style, so the full skirt of the dress fell gracefully down, making my legs look longer than they actually were. I absolutely loved it! The color gave my skin an almost rosy hue, while the bodice wasn't nearly as revealing as some of the other dresses that Alice had been throwing at me to try. The only thing that made me nervous about this dress was the side slit in the skirt that went all the way up to the top of my thigh, but I figured if I took short steps I'd be okay. I stepped out of the dressing room into the middle of the large viewing area where the three of them had been sitting for over an hour, looking at them expectantly for their responses. Instead of the usual quick "yes" or "no" from each of them, I got a huge grin from Alice, an "Oh-my-God" from Rosalie, but it was Edward's response that made me blush all the way down my neck to who-knows-where. His jaw had dropped and he simply stared. Trying to regain my composure, I simply turned back to Alice and said, "I think this is the one". No one opposed my choice, so I quickly changed out of it and we were on our way to dinner. By the time we got to dinner, everyone was back into their normal mode, with Alice and Rosalie dominating the conversation with all the plans for Saturday, and what was still left to do the next two days.

I thought fondly of what happened after dinner, as we were all walking back to the car, which was still parked next to the dress shop, a half mile away. Alice and Rosalie had been clipping along at a good pace, but after a full day, I was exhausted and had a hard time keeping up with them. Edward had fallen back with me, not saying anything, just laughing occasionally at something we would hear from one of the two girls up ahead. I remembered our conversation perfectly as I lay there and replayed it in my head.

"So," Edward started, looking up ahead at nothing in particular as we walked along, "I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis." He glanced briefly at me, gauging my reaction, I suspected.

"Thanks," I automatically responded, after hearing the same thing numerous times over the last two days. I chuckled softly, realizing that I had actually forgotten about the whole thing throughout the evening.

Edward looked at me, quirking an eyebrow. "Do you care to share what's so funny?" he asked, giving me that devastating crooked grin that always made my heart beat a little too fast.

"Umm," I started, breaking my gaze from his perfect face to try to concentrate on the question he had just asked but was failing to remember. I shook my head, clearing it enough to respond coherently. "Just laughing at myself, really," I stated, looking back up at him. "I sometimes forget about being sick for a while when I'm doing relatively normal activities, like eating dinner or hanging out with friends." I looked at him, struck by how easy it was to be open with him.

I saw his eyes tighten briefly, then he let out a long sigh, looking down at his feet as we continued along the sidewalk. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I didn't mean to cause you any pain," he finished, still looking down.

I felt awful, sensing the unnecessary guilt weighing on him. "No, don't be sorry," I said, gently reaching out to lay my hand on his forearm. He glanced quickly at my hand on him, and I just as quickly dropped it, embarrassed at the involuntary gesture. "I mean, I don't mind people bringing it up at all. I'd rather you did instead of letting it be the pink elephant sitting in the middle of the room," I continued, now taking my turn to look down at the ground as we continued along. "I actually feel better about things the more I talk about it, like it's just a part of me, and not this huge, horrific thing that is being done to me," I finished, wondering if I made any sense at all to him.

I felt him staring at me, but was too embarrassed to look up. Suddenly he stopped walking and turned to face me, gently grasping my wrist to turn me towards him. "Can I have your phone?" he asked, gesturing toward the small purse resting on my hip.

"Sure" I responded, pulling it out and handing it to him without a second thought.

Edward chuckled, holding the phone in his hand but still looking at me. "Do you always say yes to people?" he asked.

"No," I replied immediately, not understanding where his question was coming from.

"Did you want to spend your evening trying on prom dresses in Port Angeles tonight?" he asked. I eyed him suspiciously, noting the twinkle in his eye as he posed the question.

"It wasn't on the top of my list, no, but I know it meant a lot to Alice and Rosalie," I stated honestly, still looking at him and wondering what he was trying to get at. "Plus, I did need a dress," I added feebly.

"So this whole triple date theme for Saturday, was that your idea?" he asked, watching me closely.

I let out a very unladylike snort in response, saying "God, no," before I realized it had slipped out of my mouth. His eyes went wide for a second before he broke out into a hearty laugh, drawing the attention of the girls who were now standing at the car ahead of us, looking back questioningly. I found myself blushing again at him, kicking myself for not thinking about my response before I gave it to him.

Edward's laugh died out, but he still had a huge grin on his face as he turned his attention back to my phone, entering a number into it. I then saw him hit the "Send" button, and he pulled his now-vibrating phone from his pocket and glanced at the display. He hit the red "End" button on both phones, then handed mine back to me.

"If you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, you can always call me," he said quietly, looking at me intensely. I nodded my head slightly, suddenly touched at his words. "Even if it's the middle of the night and you can't sleep, call," he added. The second sentence sounded more like a command than an offer. Yet I still felt moisture forming in my eyes.

Before I could embarrass myself any further, I threw out a quick, "Thanks", then turned to walk the last half block to the car, my eyes looking down at the new phone number listed on my cell's display.

Glancing at my alarm clock, the time quickly snapped me back to the here and now. With little time to spare, I quickly got up and got ready, finding myself sitting on the front steps waiting for Alice with a few minutes to spare, glancing once again at that same phone number on my cell. I had almost taken him up on his offer at about 2 AM this morning as I lay tossing and turning, having been woken by a nightmare about the hospital, but I had chickened out at the last minute. Oddly enough, just pulling the number up on my phone had been enough to help wipe my mind of the awful images from my dream, and I had then fallen sound asleep, feeling well rested and actually excited for the dance tonight.

Just at that moment, the sun slipped through the clouds and cast down on me, warming my face as I tilted up toward it, a small smile showing. I heard Alice's car approach, glancing Rosalie bounding out of her house across the street and getting up to join them myself. Suddenly I felt more hopeful than ever about what challenges lay ahead of me. I jumped in the backseat, leaned forward, and stated, "to the spa," which pulled giggles from the two girls in the front. I couldn't wait for our adventure to begin…

**Please, please, please, I would love to hear what you think – please post a review of this story!!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

EPOV

It was 4 PM on Saturday afternoon. Soon we would be leaving to pick up the girls. Emmett, Jasper and I had enjoyed our morning of golf with my dad, followed by a light lunch at the country club. Jasper fit in well with us Cullen men, and it had afforded me the opportunity to get to know my little sister's latest crush a bit better.

I had always liked Jasper from all the times he had been around as Rosalie's brother, but I was pleasantly surprised at how bright and intuitive he was with people. Emmett had a tendency to lose his cool on the golf course, but just when he was about to go ballistic, Jasper would do or say something to totally deescalate the situation. He exuded a lot of positive energy and made you feel good just by being around him.

As I was getting my tuxedo on, the sun starting to show signs of lowering in the western sky behind me, I thought back to the only time during our conversation at lunch when I had felt a little tense. I found myself actually feeling jealous of Jasper when Emmett had commented on how he had thought that Jasper and Bella had been dating when he had first met Rosalie. I replayed the conversation, still bristling a bit at the incident Jasper had shared with us.

"So you guys never dated at all?" Emmett had asked Jasper, leaning back casually in his chair.

Jasper, totally at ease, openly replied, "at one point in eighth grade, maybe, we played with the idea of seeing if the relationship was more than just friendship, but nothing came of it." He calmly went back to his pasta. Suddenly it irked me at how calmly Jasper did everything!

I looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes, knowing what he had meant, but being the masochist that I was, I had to ask. "What do you mean, 'played with the idea'?"

Jasper blushed immediately, which brought out a howl from Emmett across the table from me. He glanced sheepishly at my dad, who suddenly assured him, "gentleman's honor, Jasper. Whatever is said at this table stays at this table, right boys?" he finished, looking at me and Emmett.

Emmett continued laughing, but I simply turned to Jasper, clearly expecting him to answer my question.

Jasper chuckled softly. "I'm making a much bigger deal out of it than it really is. We just kissed once. But as soon as it was over, we ended up laughing at how awkward it was. I felt like I was kissing my sister," he finished, laughing at the memory.

Laughing was not what I felt like doing at that moment. I simply froze at the thought of his lips touching Bella's. "Hmm," I said in a clipped tone, turning my attention back to my burger, but the image was now there, and I didn't like it. A part of me wanted to ask detailed questions about this kiss. How long was the kiss? Were her lips soft? What did she taste like? What did her skin smell like? Did you touch her face? Was it as soft and smooth as it looks?

Suddenly, I was picturing not Jasper leaning in to Bella's face, but myself. I imagined starting the kiss off slowly, chastely, just tasting her lips. I'd touch her cheek with my finger tips, lightly brushing the smooth, delicate skin. I'd follow my fingers with my lips, kissing along her cheekbone to that sensitive spot below her ear. I could just imagine how good she would smell. Would it be like flowers, or like delicate fruits? I could imagine her moaning a sigh of pleasure as I'd trail my kisses down her neck to her collar bone, letting my hands slide up the sides of her waist, my thumbs trailing up her stomach, to her rib cage, up, up….

"Edward? Edward, did you hear what I said?" I snapped out of my fantasy, blushing at the direction my thoughts were taking me. Emmett gave me an abrupt shake of my shoulder.

"Sorry," I mumbled, taking a long drink of the cold water in front of me, suddenly feeling like the room temperature had risen by twenty degrees. "What did you say?" I asked, turning to Emmett, hoping it wasn't obvious what I had been thinking.

"Dad wants to know if we'll need a ride to the dance tonight, or if we want to just drive ourselves?" I could feel my father's eyes staring at me, trying to figure out my odd behavior. I hoped I wasn't as transparent as I felt.

"We can drive ourselves," I said, turning back to my food without looking at anyone else.

"I hope you aren't so easily distracted behind the wheel, Edward," my dad stated wryly. I looked up quickly, trying to interpret his meaning, but he had already turned to Jasper and started to talk to him about his plans for college next year, a smug smile on his face.

I snapped back to reality, adjusting my tie in the mirror, running my hands through my hair one more time before heading down to the living room. The girls were all over at Bella's house getting ready, and we were to pick them up in less than thirty minutes. From what Mom had said they all had a great time at the day spa.

Jasper and Emmett were already waiting for me, corsages in hand. Mom handed me one. I immediately noticed the navy blue accents of the arrangement. "I thought Alice was wearing pink," I said, confused.

I heard Jasper clear his throat and turned, noting immediately that the corsage box in his hands had pink trim. "I hope you don't mind," Jasper said quietly. "I was hoping I could give this to Alice, if you don't mind giving Bella hers".

I chuckled lightly. Alice was going to be in heaven tonight getting all this attention from Jasper. "That's fine," I replied, patting him on the shoulder. "I know she'll appreciate it more coming from you than me," I added, gauging his reaction.

His grin just widened. Yep, I thought to myself, Alice would be in heaven.

Of course, I was pretty happy myself. I could totally use the whole Jasper-Alice thing to allow me to give Bella all my attention tonight without it being obvious that my going to the prom was more than just a favor for Alice.

"Well," Emmett said after Mom straightened his tie, "are we ready to go?"

"You boys look so handsome," she said, a tear threatening to roll down her cheek.

Emmett and I rolled our eyes. She could cry at the drop of a hat. On the other hand, Jasper seemed genuinely appreciative of the comment. "Thank you, Mrs. Cullen. And before I forget, I want to say thank you for inviting me and Bella for the after party tonight. I'm sure it will be a great time," he finished, smiling genuinely at my mother.

"Please," Mom said, reaching forward to straighten his already-straight tie in a very motherly fashion, "call me Esme. Mrs. Cullen makes me feel old," she finished with a wink.

Jasper immediately blushed, looking down at his feet. I decided to spare him any more embarrassment. "Come on you guys. Looks like Dad has the Navigator pulled up front already," I added, glancing the large black SUV idling in the horse-shoe driveway.

We said our goodbyes, me behind the wheel with Emmett in front and Jasper in back, then started down the driveway. Next stop was the Swan residence. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as we made our way, surprised that I would be nervous about a high school prom. But it wasn't the prom that I was thinking about; it was spending time with Bella. With everything she was going through, I wanted to make tonight as perfect as possible. My heart ached at the thought of what she was going to be subjected to over the next few months, but I would do what I could to try to help her through it. Hopefully she would appreciate the attention, and even consider me a friend. Lord knows I wanted it to be more, but I was also trying to be realistic. She had a lot on her plate coming up, and I didn't want to make things more complicated for her, just happier. And tonight would be the night that it all started…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

BPOV

Alice started squealing as we heard a vehicle pull up to the front of the house. "They're here! They're here," she practically screamed, throwing down the makeup brush she had just been using on me. She glanced at Rosalie, who was just finishing up my hair. "Are we ready for the unveiling?" she asked excitedly.

I looked at Rosalie anxiously, trying to gauge her handy work. She smiled at Alice, and then glanced at me, frowning. "Don't bite your lip, Bella. You're going to smudge your lip gloss. And stop looking so worried," she finished, smiling again.

"You look beautiful, Bella," Alice added, coming up to stand next to Rosalie. "Okay, you can turn around and look in the mirror now," she finished, raising me to my feet from the vanity stool I had been sitting on for the last forty-five minutes.

I took a deep breath, suddenly nervous about how I would look. I was getting ready to start chemotherapy in two days. A little makeup and hairspray shouldn't seem so imposing. Yet for some reason, I actually cared about how I looked right now. I took a deep breath, and then turned to the mirror. I slowly exhaled, not believing my eyes.

"How did you guys do that?" I asked quietly, studying the strange face in front of me. I hardly recognized myself. My hair was piled up in loose curls on the top of my head with half of it cascading down my shoulders in large ringlets, softening the sharp angles of my cheekbones that had become a bit more prominent over the last few weeks from the weight I had lost recently due to being sick. Rosalie had placed wisps of baby's breath throughout my hair, giving it almost a halo look. The makeup that Alice had spent so much time on didn't look overdone as I had feared it would. Instead it looked soft and natural. There were no dark circles under my eyes, and my cheeks had a healthy, rosy hue to them. I had never thought of myself as being ugly, but never beautiful, either. I smiled, waiting to see if the reflection was really me. When the smile appeared, I almost wanted to cry. I actually felt pretty! I turned, grabbing the two girls in a big bear hug. "Thank you, you guys. I don't know how you did it," I added, stepping back to look at them, "but you did it," I finished, genuinely smiling at them.

Rosalie looked away, mumbling "now my mascara is going to run," and then stepping over to grab the wrap for her dress.

Alice smiled back at me, blinking back tears herself. "I have a feeling this is going to be a night to remember for all of us," she said, looking me straight in the eye and squeezing my hands. "Now let's get down there before the guys start getting too impatient."

We all grabbed our accessories and headed down the steps. Rosalie went first, gaining a loud whistle from Emmett, I assumed. I heard Charlie clear his throat at the out burst and then some laughter from all of them, which suddenly put me at ease. As Alice got down to the foyer in front of me I looked right at Jasper, waiting for his reaction at seeing her. I was not disappointed, as his jaw dropped and he suddenly had the "deer-in-the-headlight" look on his face. I glanced at Alice and saw the look of sheer joy on her face at his reaction, her smile becoming even brighter, if that was at all possible.

As I came down behind Alice, looking down at my feet to make sure I didn't trip over the last few steps, I heard a sharp intake of breath to my right. I swung my face up, wondering what could have caused that reaction, and was dumbfounded to see Edward standing there, staring at me. He had the exact same look that I had just seen on Jasper's face. I glanced around at the others, noting that each couple was huddled close together, corsages being dispensed by Emmett and Jasper. When I looked at Charlie, I was surprised at the scowl on his face. I turned and saw the object of his look, and found Edward still staring at me with that same look on his face. He must have felt Charlie's eyes burrowing into the side of his head because he suddenly snapped his mouth shut and glanced over at my dad. Had he just blushed? I looked at Charlie myself and found him now looking at me, satisfied that Edward was no longer staring my direction.

"You look absolutely beautiful, Bella," he stated quietly, leaning in to give me a quick hug. Then he turned again to Edward, the scowl returning. A giggle escaped from me at the turnabout in his countenance. Both men looked at me quizzically then.

"Dad," I grumbled quietly, nudging him a bit as I stepped up to Edward. I suddenly felt more empowered than nervous. I motioned to the corsage box in Edward's hand. "Is this for anyone in particular?" I asked him in what I hoped to be a flirtatious manner. All of my courage fell away as I was the one that was caught dumbstruck in the next moment.

Edward laughed. It wasn't one of those little fake laughs you did to appease someone. It was a full open-mouthed belly laugh, and it made his whole face light up and his eyes twinkle. The strangest part was that he seemed to be laughing at himself.

"Yes, Bella Swan, this is for you," he replied to me stepping forward and placing the corsage around my wrist, still showing that huge, beautiful smile. That was the best way I could describe it – beautiful. With his perfectly tousled copper-brown hair and green eyes, I could have stood there and continued staring into his face all night long and never gotten tired of it.

"Okay, you guys, you don't want to be late for your dinner reservations," Charlie interjected, clearly not comfortable with his eighteen year-old daughter ogling a tall, handsome – no, gorgeous – college sophomore in his front foyer. The group shuffled out into the pleasant, surprisingly sunny afternoon. Charlie continued to eye us all carefully as we got into the large SUV, glancing around to make sure we all buckled ourselves in. He then looked directly at Edward. "You've got some precious cargo with you tonight," he said gravely, nodding his head toward me while keeping eye contact with the young man. "I expect you to remember that while you're driving this crew around, is that clear?" he finished, using his "Chief Swan" voice.

I looked at Edward in the front seat next to me, apprehensive about his reaction to my dad's over protectiveness. He looked straight into my eyes, never breaking his gaze as he responded. "I completely agree with you, Chief Swan," he responded, using my dad's formal title rather than calling him "Mr. Swan". He then looked back at my dad, suddenly speaking man to man rather than boy to man. "I know some of the kids in town get a little wild on a night like this. I'll be sure to stick to only going to the restaurant, the dance, then back to our house for the after party. No extra detours, just to be on the safe side," he finished, nodding to my dad before turning to start the vehicle.

I looked at my dad, who looked a bit impressed, I thought. He nodded at Edward. "That's good to hear. You kids have fun then, and be safe," he finished stepping back from the passenger door, giving everyone a little wave and even a smile. I noticed how Edward checked all his blind spots and pulled away from the curb very slowly, both hands securely on the steering wheel.

As we turned the corner so we were out of eyesight of the house, I leaned slightly over to Edward. My movement caught his attention, and he turned to me, smiling.

"Thanks for humoring him," I said, genuinely appreciative of him being so respectful with Charlie, telling him what he wanted to hear. "He's been a bit overbearing lately. I know it was hard for him to see me go off tonight given everything that has been going on," I added, glancing down at my hands in my lap, a bit embarrassed at my sudden openness in front of Edward.

Suddenly Edward's large hand was resting on mine, enveloping it in his warmth. I glanced up at him with a bit of surprise, suddenly forgetting my embarrassment at the warmth I saw reflected in his eyes as well. "I don't blame him for wanting to protect you right now," he said, glancing back to the road as we drove. "I'd feel the same way if I were in his shoes," he finished, pulling his hand away from mine to signal our turn onto the highway.

I suddenly realized just how much I liked Edward Cullen. Not only had he been patient and flexible when he had taken us girls to Port Angeles dress shopping earlier in the week, but he was also generous with his kindness to others. I knew he didn't really want to be at some dumb high school prom, but he had offered to take his sister so she wouldn't miss it her senior year, even agreeing to go in a group with strangers so she could be with the boy she had feelings for. But to appease the father of an insignificant girl who was really just along for the ride went above and beyond the call of duty. That was downright sweet. I smiled, looking at him as this all went through my head. Suddenly he was looking at me. I quickly glanced down again, embarrassed that he had caught me in my moment of revelry.

"What are you thinking, Bella Swan?" he asked, squinting his eyes at me as if he were trying to read some fine print.

Too embarrassed to tell the whole truth, I decided to at least say something that was partially true. "I'm just really excited about tonight. I was sort of dreading it, not sure how I would feel or how distracted I might be thinking about next week. But I am really excited about it. I think it will be a lot of fun," I finished, again surprised at how easy it was for me to be open with him.

"Then let the fun begin," Edward responded, winking at me as we pulled into the supper club just outside of town. We could see other kids all dressed up and entering the restaurant as we pulled in, and the conversation of the entire group in the SUV turned to who was with whom and what they were wearing.

Edward was around to my door before I even had my purse and wrap gathered into my arms, taking my hand to thankfully help me out of the high vehicle and saving me from falling flat on my face. As Rosalie and Alice both held the arms of their respective dates, I was relieved as Edward offered his arm to me, sensing my pulse quicken at the feel of his muscular forearm under my hand.

I noted the looks we were getting as we entered the restaurant, and was utterly relieved that we had a small private room reserved in the back of the restaurant. The room had French doors that opened out onto a large veranda that had small trees dispersed throughout, each with a string of delicate white lights, making it look like something out of a fairy tale.

The dinner went by quickly, helped along by pleasant conversation amongst our little group. Periodically others would poke their heads in to say hello or to give us a wave as they were escorted to their own tables. We took our dessert out on the veranda, seating ourselves on the outdoor lounge chairs that afforded the patrons a full view of the lake with the sun setting, the sky a glorious palette of all colors imaginable. The chairs were positioned in four groups of two, so each couple sat and shared a quiet conversation with their counterpart. As I took my seat next to Edward, I felt a bit self conscious, but was immediately put at ease as he asked me questions about growing up splitting my time between Forks and Arizona with my mom. The conversation flowed easily, and I was again amazed at how much I enjoyed talking with him. He made me feel as though I were the only other person in the room, giving me his full and undivided attention. I was even surprised at how quickly he picked up on my getting chilly as the sun fell further in the sky, causing the cool air from the lake to blow up onto the veranda where we sat. He quietly took his jacket off, swinging it around to rest on my shoulders without saying a word.

His jacket had a faint scent of cologne, but more just a good, clean smell. It was one of the most pleasant smells I had ever encountered. I found myself wondering if his skin would smell the same way. I was usually not one to enjoy dancing, but suddenly I couldn't wait for the end of dinner so we could get to the prom and I would have an excuse to stand close to him, my arms wrapped around his neck, my body next to his, my face resting on his shoulder. I wondered if his hair felt as soft and silky as it looked, and if it was really as thick as it appeared. I wondered how it would feel to run my fingers through it.

I was startled out of my thoughts when Alice suddenly said loudly, "Bella, are you coming?" I then realized that Edward had been standing there, looking at me, hand out to help me up from the chair, waiting for me to put my hand in his. I felt myself blush, relieved at the dimming light from the sunset and the low twinkle of the trees around us.

"Yes," I responded a bit breathlessly. I wondered if Edward could hear my heart racing as he pulled me up. I don't know if it was my thoughts or getting up too quickly, but I found my knees slightly buckling underneath me. Edward quickly wrapped his free arm around me, my hand still in his.

"Are you all right?" he asked, a look of genuine concern on his face.

I immediately stepped back from him, but not before noting the rock hard feel of his chest I had just had my free hand resting upon. I took a deep breath, which only made my current state worse as I got the full effect of his enticing scent. "I'm fine," I said, sure that he could read the almost sinful thoughts that were now filling my head at his close proximity.

He continued to look at me, his brows knitted together to assess if I was telling the truth or not, I assumed. "If you're not up for this, just say the word and I can take you home if you want," he whispered so only I could hear.

I suddenly felt a moment of panic, wanting to be anywhere that he was, and definitely not by myself. "Really," I said, looking him straight in the eye, "I'm fine. I just got up too fast, that's all. I don't want to go home," I added, almost pleadingly.

"Okay, okay, just as long as you feel all right," he assured me, sensing the panic in my voice at the mention of going home. He looked at me then more intensely, seeming to weigh something in his mind before speaking again. "I want nothing more than to spend the rest of the evening with you, but I'll understand if you've had enough," he finished, waiting for my response.

I smiled at him then, and was relieved to see his smile in response. I suddenly realized we were alone, and found myself glancing at his lips since I was still standing so close to him. I was about to say something, but found my mind was blank. All I could do was wonder if his lips would feel warm against my own or not.

"Hey, we need our driver," Emmett hollered back onto the veranda. The booming voice broke both of us out of our trance, and I realized that somehow our faces were just inches apart. Edward pulled back, a slight look of shock on his face.

"We better get going," I said, grabbing my purse and wrap from the table next to the chair I had just vacated and headed back into our private room, following the others out into the main restaurant, embarrassed at myself for almost kissing Edward. Obviously he had been just as shocked as I was at how close I had gotten to him. I hoped as I walked out that I hadn't embarrassed him too badly by my actions. I enjoyed being with him, and I didn't want to do anything that would make it awkward for him to be around me. I could just kick myself for getting caught up in what was obviously a one-sided moment.

I got into the SUV as soon as I heard the click of the locks after Edward hit the keyless remote, not giving him a chance to get to my door to help me in. I ended up tripping into the vehicle, which caused all of us to start laughing, much to my relief. It broke the awkward moment we had just had, and I found myself wondering if I had imagined it all as Edward smiled over at me as we pulled out of the parking lot to head to the prom. I turned to look out the window, enjoying the beautiful greenness of the trees as we headed to the high school. Now that I had myself under control I was looking forward to the rest of the night. It was turning out to be better than I had ever hoped.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Up next – prom and the after party, where Bella and Edward will finally get some time alone!!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

EPOV

As I escorted Bella into the school gymnasium, I barely noticed the transformation of the room or the throngs of students staring at our group. All I could think of was almost kissing Bella on the veranda in the restaurant. Thank God Emmett had snapped me back to my senses. I'm sure Bella would have been shocked and probably offended by such forwardness. She had enough on her mind without some lust-crazed college student attacking her. The way she ran from the room was indication enough of how I had embarrassed her.

On the way over to the school I had made a promise to myself that I would be on my best behavior with Bella. I wanted tonight to be perfect for her, and I'm sure in her mind that didn't include me seducing her, despite how enticing it was becoming to me.

I glanced down at her again as we stopped to sit at an open table, amazed that I had not seen the natural beauty she possessed before, not only on the outside but the inside as well. I had always found her pleasant to be around when we had crossed paths, but had not really had a chance to get to know her as she seemed so shy and reserved. She was very hard to read, so it was difficult to know how she was really feeling.

I sat back in my seat, watching the parade of high school students come by the table to say hello or exclaim at how pretty the girls' dresses were. It gave me a chance to study Bella more closely, watching her interact with each person as they came by. I noticed that only certain students actually spoke to Alice, some just glancing shyly her way or quickly letting her know how beautiful she looked. I knew my sister wasn't a snob by any means, but it was obvious that she was held to a very high standard by her peers, and it was one she seemed comfortable with.

Bella, on the other hand, spoke to everyone that approached the table. It was obvious who the less popular kids were, but it didn't matter to Bella what shape or size the person was that came to talk to her. She treated everyone with the same care and respect, giving every girl a specific compliment about their attire that obviously made them feel special and joking with the guys about how well they "cleaned up".

The only time Bella seemed ill at ease was when the conversation turned to her as the subject. Everyone commented on how beautiful she looked, and no matter how many times it was said, she blushed every single time, as if she didn't quite believe them. I suddenly wondered if she realized just how beautiful she looked tonight. That was something I would have to make sure she knew before the end of our time together.

I continued observing the group, watching Bella react to each of the young men that came by to say hello. I found myself analyzing her reaction to each guy, trying to gauge if there was anyone she had feelings for. I was relieved as with each passing person she continued to treat them all with the same level of kindness as the one before. So at least there didn't seem to be anyone special she was silently pining for. I had been a bit concerned when I saw her repeatedly glancing at Jasper, but then realized that it was Jasper's growing ardor for Alice that kept putting a smile on her face. It was with relief that I realized that she truly wished only for Jasper to be happy with Alice, and there were no other feelings than friendship that she had for the young man.

"You must be extremely bored by all of this," I heard Bella say, not sure who she was addressing. Turning to look at her, I was surprised to see her face looking directly at me.

"You think I'm bored?" I asked, clarifying her statement.

"Well you haven't said more than a few words since we sat down, and there probably aren't very many people that you remember" she finished, sharing her logic.

I smiled at her, touched by her concern for my feelings. "Actually, I've been quite entertained by the constant flow of people coming by to compliment the three most beautiful girls at the prom," I stated, trying not to sound too smitten with her.

To my amazement, she blushed again, as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Obviously you haven't seen Lauren yet," she stated quietly, gesturing toward a tall girl standing by the refreshment table. She was barely visible through the circle of jocks surrounding her, but I recognized her as one of Alice's acquaintances. I know Alice did not consider her a friend, but they were perhaps the two most popular girls in the school from what I had heard. Seeing her in a strapless gold lame mini dress, I found her to look overdone and tacky. She looked like she belonged at a night club in Seattle, not a high school prom. She obviously felt that she needed to flaunt what she had to impress people, which said volumes about the girl's lack of self confidence.

Not wanting to sound too cold toward the girl, I tried to respond to Bella as honestly as possible. "She's pretty, but it looks like she works too hard at looking that way. Too much makeup for my tastes," I finished, taking a sip of my soda while glancing up at Bella to see what she thought of my statements.

Bella was looking thoughtfully at the girl, as though seeing her for the first time. There was no jealousy or malice in her gaze, just contemplation. Again, it amazed me at how good-natured she was.

Suddenly, I saw Bella's eyes widen and her gaze shift down to her hands. I glanced in the direction of Lauren and saw that she had eyed our group and was making her way over to us. She looked as though she were a predator, making her move on her prey as she glided across the floor.

She stopped right next to me, placing her hand on the back of my chair, and then looked at Alice. I had to lean backwards to avoid her breasts hitting me in the side of the head.

"Alice, that gown looks absolutely heavenly on you," Lauren almost hissed. She leaned forward and gave a slight tug at Jasper's tie, holding the revealing pose much longer than was appropriate. "Jasper, I hardly recognized you in your tux. Aren't you a handsome devil," she finished, winking overtly at him.

Jasper blushed, looking anywhere but at the ample cleavage that was being presented to him by the girl. "Thanks," he mumbled politely.

Lauren barely glanced at Emmett and Rosalie. It had been no secret that she had carried a huge crush on the middle Cullen sibling last year, and had been outraged when she found out that a mere sophomore had caught his attention toward the end of the year. To this day she acted as if Rosalie did not exist.

Her glance fell to me, licking her lips as she smiled. It did not have the expected effect on me. "You must be Edward Cullen, I presume," she purred, raising her hand from the back of my chair and holding it out to me. It gave me the opportunity I had been waiting for, and I casually slid my seat closer to Bella's chair. I reached out and gave her a firm handshake, not saying anything in return. As soon as I dropped her hand I placed my arm around Bella's shoulders, smiling up at the tall girl. She did not look pleased. This caused me to grin even more.

Lauren looked at me, then at Bella, then back at me, a look of shock on her face. Her expression became composed again, which made me suspicious.

"Bella, you look just darling tonight. I'm so glad you could make it given the circumstances," she oozed, clearly changing her tactics. My eyes narrowed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with the situation, wanting to whisk Bella away from this pariah. "Are you sure you're really sick, because you certainly don't look it," she said callously.

I heard the intake of breaths by everyone sitting at the table. I was about to jump out of my seat and give Lauren a piece of my mind, but I quickly felt Bella's hand rest on my leg. She obviously sensed the tension in my body. I turned to her, trying to determine the effect the girl's words had on her.

Bella simply smiled at Lauren. "Believe me, I wish I was making it up. This," she said, gesturing at her hair and makeup, "is simply the work of very talented people." She glanced over to Alice and Rosalie, giving them both a warm, heartfelt smile, and then looked back at Lauren, not waiting for a reply. "You look downright gorgeous, Lauren. That dress looks like it was made for you. I don't think anyone else in the entire school could pull it off like you," she finished, genuinely smiling at the girl.

I wanted to look at Lauren's face to see her reaction, but I couldn't tear my gaze from those soft, gentle eyes in front of me. Where did she get this unlimited generosity that she bestowed upon even the most undeserving of people? Suddenly, in that moment, I felt something change inside of me. A heat burned in my chest, causing my heart to beat faster and my pulse to race. All sound and sight fell away save for the beautiful, kind, generous girl sitting next to me. In that very moment, I started falling in love with Bella Swan.

BPOV

"Thank you, Bella," Lauren responded, "that's really nice of you to say. And I really love that color on you. You should wear blue more often. It really becomes you," she finished, finally giving me a real smile.

It struck me as Lauren approached our table at just how self-conscious the poor girl was after listening to Edward's comments about her. He wasn't mean in what he said. He really did sound like he was just making a very objective observation about the girl, which struck me as odd given that he was a typical red-blooded young man and Lauren was, well, Lauren. However, I was finding that Edward Cullen was not typical at all.

I smiled back at Lauren, thanking her for the compliment. She then excused herself and I was relieved, knowing that she had rubbed Alice the wrong way with her little antic with Jasper. I was smiling at what a cute couple they made when I felt Edward move next to me. I turned to him, almost forgetting the arm he had placed around me, and realizing that I still had my hand on his knee. I pulled it away, embarrassed and hoping he wasn't shocked at the gesture. I had simply wanted him to stay calm after Lauren had made her thoughtless comment. I'm sure she didn't realize how hurtful it was, but I could tell right away that Edward had been angered by it and wasn't sure what he was going to do as his body had quickly tensed. I was relieved that he had let me handle it. And as I suspected, Lauren had let her guard down as soon as some kindness was shown toward her. Lauren had her faults, but I knew deep down she was just as insecure as the rest of us.

Edward took the hand I had just pulled away from him into his large, warm grasp. "Could I have this dance, Miss Swan?" he asked, looking intensely into my eyes.

Forgetting about my embarrassment, I felt my heart begin to race and butterflies in my stomach at the thought of having my arms around him. I shut my eyes and shook my head to bring me back to my senses, shocked again at where my thoughts were leading me. He dropped my hand, sitting back in his chair, a blank look on his face. I immediately realized he had misunderstood my gesture, and stood up, holding my hand out to him boldly.

"I would love to dance with you, Mr. Cullen," I responded playfully. That disarming smile glowed at me again, causing my heart to skip a beat as it was racing. Would I ever get used to how beautiful this man was? He took my hand and led me to the dance floor, where a slow song had just started.

I had to catch my breath as he swept me into his arms, holding me close. His arm was like a steel band wrapped around my waist. It didn't feel constrictive, rather comforting, as if standing there on the dance floor nothing could hurt me.

I let him lead, allowing my body to lean into him. He felt like one hard, lean muscle against me. I would never consider Edward a jock type, but it was obvious that he was very muscular under the dark tuxedo. But it wasn't the feel that was causing my heart to race. It was his smell. I closed my eyes, savoring the aroma as we slowly made our way on the dance floor.

"Are you having a nice time?" Edward whispered into my ear. The feel of his breath against my skin sent electric currents down my neck. I smiled, still with my eyes closed, not wanting this moment of closeness with him to end.

"Very," I replied quietly, boldly leaning my head against his shoulder. I had never felt more at ease or more relaxed in my life. Right now, dancing in Edward Cullen's arms was the only place I wanted to be.

The song ended too quickly. I was pleasantly surprised when Edward hung onto me for a moment longer than the other couples on the dance floor. I looked up at his face and found him smiling down at me. I immediately blushed at his scrutiny, wondering what he could possibly be thinking. I knew he was being kind to me for Jasper and Alice's sakes. I wished the circumstances were different. I wished that we really were a couple attending the prom, and not just the leftovers from the two real couples we were with. I wished that Edward found me funny and interesting, and wasn't paying me all this attention because I was sick, but because he really liked me.

As we made our way back to the table, Edward ever the gentleman leading me on his arm, I started to realize that I didn't mind Edward giving me attention out of kindness. I would just accept it for as long as he wanted to give it. If I didn't see him beyond tonight, that was okay. At least we would have tonight.

Things would change come Monday, and I had no idea what the next few months held for me. I refused to wallow in self pity or despair at my situation. I didn't want to make things any more difficult for my family and friends than they already were.

"You look way too serious for a prom, Bella," Edward said, jarring me from my thoughts.

"I'm sorry," I responded quickly, smiling to try to put him at ease. "I was just thinking how glad I am that I came to this tonight," I told him, only partially revealing my thoughts.

Edward smiled, then to my surprise, reached over and tucked a stray lock of hair that had escaped from Rosalie's earlier ministrations back behind my ear. His touch once again sent electric currents through me. Would I ever get used to this attention?

"I'm glad you came, too," he said quietly. His kindness touched me, causing emotion to well up. I could feel tears start to well up in my eyes as I thought of how wonderful everyone was being about my cancer. I wasn't one to get emotional, but at that moment I felt so vulnerable and raw, I couldn't help it.

I quickly got up. "I think I'm going to go get some air for a minute," I said to the group, trying to put on a bright smile. I was struggling to hold back the tears in my eyes, knowing that I had to get out of there quickly in order to keep everyone from seeing them.

They all suddenly seemed to be asking at once if I wanted company or if I felt okay. I assured them I just wanted to get some air by myself and turned to walk away before anyone could respond. Thankfully I did not hear any foot falls behind me as I exited the gymnasium out of the side door that led to the football field behind the school. I made my way toward the bleachers, feeling the sobs wrack my body as I finally was able to sit down. Seeing no one else around, I put my head in my hands and let the emotions wash over me. The fear of what lay ahead, the anguish over what my family and friends would be going through by my side, and the sorrow at not knowing if I would ever have the chance to do all the things that young adults do, like go to college, fall in love, make love for the first time, get married someday, they all crashed over me, bringing huge tears. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, trying to hold myself together. I did not want to feel this way, so scared and so helpless. But after looking at Edward and seeing the kindness he showed, and knowing that if I didn't beat this cancer I would hurt him and so many others around me, it had been too much to handle.

"Bella."

I felt Edward's arms wrap around me as he slid onto the bleacher seat just below me. He pulled me down onto his lap and held me, whispering words of comfort. I was too raw to be embarrassed, and let him sit there and hold me, clutching him as if he were a life vest in a tumultuous sea, the only thing keeping me afloat. Before I knew what I was doing, I was putting my hands in his hair at the back of his head. I placed my cheek against his neck, again caught up in the emotion of him being close. I could feel the hand he had on my back moving up to the back of my neck, splaying his fingers in my hair. He was placing light kisses in my hair, still whispering those calming words. Then his kisses were on my cheeks, following the tear trails that were there.

Suddenly, all I could think of was kissing his lips, wanting – no, needing to know how they felt and tasted. Before my logical side caught up with me, I had my mouth on his. To my relief he didn't pull back. Instead, he took the lead as if we were on the dance floor, using his lips to show me which direction to go. He used the hand at the back of my head to tilt me to allow the kiss to deepen. I felt his tongue running along my lower lip, gently urging my mouth open. I willingly obliged, gasping at the sensations he was sending through my whole body. His tongue probed my mouth gently, and I responded, letting my tongue taste him, reveling in the feel.

Edward pulled away from my mouth, but before my brain could register any disappointment, his lips and tongue were at my neck, kissing, licking and gently sucking, sending even more electric currents through my body. As his one hand continued massaging the back of my head, I could feel the other one at my waist, slowly rising, his thumb coming to rest just under my breast. At the same time his kisses were down to my collar bone. Not consciously thinking about it, I gently slid one of the straps of my dress off my shoulder, allowing a greater expanse of skin for Edward's attention. He continued his kisses along my collarbone and down to the top of my partially exposed breast.

As engaging as his kisses were, I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I felt his thumb brush gently against my nipple through the light fabric of my dress as he kissed the top of that same breast. Sensations I had never felt before shot through my body, heat flowing down to my core. I was suddenly aware of his erection pressing against my hip, and I shifted into it subconsciously. He groaned, bringing his mouth back up to mine, kissing me deeply, our tongues tangling in a timeless dance.

I didn't notice it at first, but slowly his kisses became less frenzied and softer. I could still feel the hardness against my hip, but I could also feel my heart starting to slow. Gently, Edward slid me off his lap down next to him, our lips still enmeshed. I felt him push my dress strap back onto my shoulder. I felt disappointment at the loss of bodily contact with him. He finally broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against mine, now caressing my cheek with his hand, the other still wrapped around me.

"Are you okay?" I heard him whisper, kissing my forehead and then looking me straight in the eyes.

Realization at what I had just done, throwing myself at him like a dog in heat, came crashing down. I tried to pull away, to turn my face from him, but he wouldn't allow it.

"Stop," he said sternly. I looked up at him, shocked at the tone of his voice. Once he realized he had my attention, he continued. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" he asked, his voice softening with concern.

My surprise at his questions pushed my embarrassment to the side. "You didn't hurt me, Edward."

Relief washed over his features. He closed his eyes. "I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me," he finished, grimacing.

"Why are you sorry?" I blurted, shocked at his self-recrimination. "I was the one that attacked you. I should be the one apologizing," I finished quietly.

The look of disbelief on his face caught me off guard. Then that heartbreaking smile came through, and his whole countenance brightened. The next thing I knew, he was laughing that contagious, lovely laugh. I just continued to stare at him, not sure what his reaction meant. I had never been so confused in my life.

Edward obviously saw the confusion on my face. He reached up to caress my cheek again. I closed my eyes, leaning into his hand involuntarily. Then I felt his lips on mine, soft and gentle. I sighed as he pulled away from the kiss.

"Bella Swan, why did it take me all this time to realize how special you are," he whispered to me, giving me another light kiss. I felt my face grow warm under his gaze, shocked at his statement, yet pleased about it beyond my wildest dreams. I felt like I was stuck in the middle of a fairy tale, waiting for the clock to strike midnight.

Still unsure of what was going on, I asked "so you liked kissing me?"

Again, Edward let out that laugh of his that warmed me down to my toes. "Yes," he said, still chuckling, "yes, I liked kissing you very much, and I still do like it." He placed another kiss on my lips as if to emphasize the statement. Then his gaze turned serious.

"What's the matter?" I asked, placing my hand against his cheek, marveling at how natural the gesture felt.

He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "I promised myself I would be on my best behavior with you tonight." He looked back up at me. "After what I almost did at the restaurant I thought I had frightened you."

Thinking back to my take on what had almost happened on the veranda there, I found myself laughing. Edward looked at me, frowning at my unexpected reaction.

"I thought I had offended you," I said in explanation, amazed at how easy it was to talk to him about what had happened.

We sat there for a while longer, enjoying our new found closeness. I finally explained to him why I had come out to the bleachers. He had held me tight, reassuring me that everything would be fine, and that he wanted to do whatever he could to help me through the upcoming months. Realizing that it was almost time to head to their house for the after-party and our friends would be looking for us, we got up to head back into the building. Edward kissed me on the forehead just before we entered the gym. My heart swelled at his thoughtfulness. I couldn't wait for the rest of our night to unfold.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

EPOV

I was going to burn in hell, that much I was sure of. However, given the turn of events this evening, I didn't really care. I still couldn't believe what had happened between me and Bella out on the bleachers at the school. The moment she ground her hip into my lap I thought I was going to throw her down on the bleachers right there and make love to her. Even now that we had made it to my house for the after party I was finding it difficult not to find some excuse to get her alone to hold her and kiss her more.

Bella Swan had somehow become a drug for me. I was mesmerized and enchanted by her. I could find nothing wrong with her. Everything she did seemed more and more endearing to me, from tripping up the steps of the house to snorting while laughing at a joke that Emmett told us.

I sat there now, in our entertainment room with the big screen projector, watching some chick flick with Bella and some other people I didn't know, caring little for the movie but enthralled with her reaction to it instead. What was wrong with me? I had spent the last year finding fault in every woman I had met on campus, a cynic on love, criticizing my friends who had started long-term relationships. I was convinced that every relationship had to end badly, so why even start. Sure my mom and dad seemed to be happy, but they were the only exception to the rule I could see. All of my college roommates from the last two years were products of divorced families.

Yet here I was, totally enraptured with this eighteen year-old girl who had just found out she had cancer. My heart sank at the thought. That last piece of information alone should have been screaming at me to run the other direction. However, I found myself wanting to do whatever I could to make the summer as easy as possible for Bella.

The credits started rolling on the screen, signaling the end of the movie. I turned to Bella, finding her looking down at my hand as she held it in her own. The others had already cleared out of the open seats, some going to the back of the room to view the collection of movies there, presumably to pick out the next one to watch.

"You have the most beautiful hands I've ever seen on a man," Bella said quietly, turning my hand over. "Yet they're not soft. They're actually very strong," she finished looking up at me.

"Ten years of piano lessons will make anyone's hands strong," I added taking her hand in mine and looking at it more closely. She wore no nail polish like most of the other girls at the prom. Her nails looked strong and healthy. I played with the tips of the nails as I spoke. "You must like milk. Your nails look very healthy," I said, stating my observation.

"I do like milk," she said, smiling at my insight. She turned herself fully toward me, letting her chin rest on her propped up arm. "So you play the piano?"

"Yes," I answered simply.

"Would you play something for me tonight?" she asked, smiling.

My grimace surfaced before I could think about it, and I regretted it immediately as I saw her apprehension as her face dropped to look down at her hand, still in mine. Once again, I was sure she thought she was causing me some kind of turmoil and was feeling guilty. She was very good at letting herself feel bad when it came to others. "I would love to play something for you," I quickly stated, reaching over to lift her chin so she was looking at me again. "But could we wait until there aren't as many people around? I don't really feel comfortable playing in front of a large audience," I admitted sheepishly.

Relief covered her face at understanding my reluctance. "That's fine," she said, smiling again. "So what kind of stuff do you like to play?"

"Mostly classical. Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Debussy, stuff like that." I suddenly felt self conscious about my playing the piano. I wondered if she would like what I played. I had no idea what her interests in music were. I laughed at my sudden nervousness, knowing that Bella would probably like anything I played as it was her nature to please others.

"What's so funny?" she asked, knitting her brows at my chuckling.

"No one has ever asked me about my piano playing before," I admitted.

"Didn't any of your friends or girlfriends know you played?" she inquired, frowning.

"They knew," I stated, looking back down at her hand that was still held in my grasp. "I guess they just weren't really interested in it. That sounds kind of self-pitying, doesn't it," I observed, laughing at myself again.

"No," Bella replied, "I think it's sad that they never asked. I'm sure you're very good. I can't imagine you being bad at anything," she finished, raising her eyebrows.

I laughed, slightly embarrassed at her remark. I told her as much. "Would you like to see my CD and album collection?" I asked, suddenly wanting to know as much about her tastes on music as possible. A plan was starting to form in my head, but I needed more information.

She stifled a small yawn, nodding her head in agreement. "Sorry, guess the night is starting to catch up to me," she added, obviously embarrassed by her gesture.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you home now? I can pick you up tomorrow afternoon and bring you back over here to look at my music then," I added, concerned about her well-being more than my desire to keep her there with me.

She laughed her light, soft laugh. "Charlie said to stay all night if I wanted, and that is exactly what I plan to do. You don't want to take me home yet, do you?" she suddenly asked, a look of concern now on her face.

"No," I practically shouted at her. The others in the room glanced our way, curious at my outburst. Bella and I started laughing.

"Come on," she said, pulling me up out of the chair. "Let's go look at those CD's."

My heart skipped a beat as I stood and came within mere inches of her face. It was so tempting to just lean in and kiss her again, but I didn't want to embarrass her in front of her friends. I took a deep breath and smiled at her, which had her returning her own beautiful smile back at me. My heart skipped again, mesmerized by how beautiful she was. How had this sprite of a girl become so important to me within the last few days?

Suddenly there was someone standing next to us clearing his throat. We both turned at once and found Jasper standing there, Alice behind him in the doorway, eyeing us as she was talking to some of the other party-goers.

"Hey, Jasper," I said as I smiled at him, still keeping Bella's hand in mine. "Are you and Alice having a nice time?" I had to work to keep the smile on my face since Jasper was not returning one, but rather was frowning at me.

Never taking his eyes off of mine, the younger man quietly said, "Bella, Dr. Cullen said he wanted you to go see him in his study to check on how you were doing tonight. Alice will take you up there," he finished.

I looked at Bella, who was glancing between me and Jasper worriedly. Finally Alice came up beside her. "Come on Bella, my dad said it should only take a second. We'll let the guys hang out here for now. They'll be fine, right Jasper?" she finished, placing her hand on Jasper's arm.

He finally broke his gaze from mine, looking at Bella for the first time since he had approached us. Seeing Bella's worry Jasper immediately smiled at her. "We'll be right here when you get back, I promise. I just want to talk to Edward for a minute, that's all."

"There, you see, everything is fine," Alice interjected, steering Bella away from us. I gave Bella a reassuring smile as she turned into the hallway, Alice chattering away about someone spilling on their dress or something.

I turned back to Jasper, folding my arms in front of me. I narrowed my eyes at him, not pleased at the tone he had used. "Is there a problem here, Jasper?" I asked, not about to be intimidated by my little sister's new boyfriend.

Jasper, in turn, folded his arms in front of him, mirroring my stance. "I don't know, Edward," he said, emphasizing my name mockingly. "Is there a problem? Things seem to be getting awfully cozy between you and Bella. You do know what's ahead for her next week, don't you?" he asked accusingly.

I dropped my hands and took a menacing step toward him. Surprisingly, he stood his ground, only flinching slightly at the gesture. As much as the guy was ticking me off, I had to commend him for his loyalty to Bella. "I know exactly what Bella is facing next week and pretty much the rest of her summer, I suspect," I stated through clenched teeth. "My father is her doctor, so the thought is never far from my mind," I finished.

Jasper unfolded his arms, sinking down into the seat next to him, dropping his head into his hands. I stood there, not sure what to do or say next. This was not the reaction I had expected from him at my words. I took the seat in front of him, resting my elbows on my legs so my head was level with his. A few of the people who had been looking through the movie titles were still looking at us, but most had turned back to what they were doing. I waited patiently for Jasper to speak.

"Bella is my best friend," I heard him say, his head still in his hands. He looked up at me, the pain on his face excruciating to view. "I really like your family, Edward, but I can't sit by and let one of you hurt her, especially right now," he finished.

I frowned at him, relieved to know Bella had such a good friend in Jasper, yet frustrated that I had to explain myself to him. I decided to take the high road. "Jasper, does Bella look happy to you tonight?" He nodded his head. I continued on before he could say anything. "That is my one and only concern right now, her happiness."

"What about tomorrow, or next week, or next fall when you go back to school and leave her here?" he asked, obviously having thought this through before approaching me.

I decided to be completely honest with him. "Right now I have every intention of being here for her tomorrow, and next week and next month."

"You need more than just good intentions with Bella, Edward," he whispered harshly. "She needs to be staying positive through all of this. From everything I've read that is one of the most important things for someone to survive cancer. They need to have a reason to live, to go on. You don't know what Bella is like. You don't understand what would happen if she fell for you and then you decided you'd had enough taking care of the "sick girl"," he finished.

"You mean the fact that she would blame herself no matter what caused our relationship to fall apart? Or that she would keep all her feelings inside of her because she wouldn't want her family or close friends," I spat, gesturing back at him, "to know how much she was hurting?" I waited to let my words sink in with him. I could see the look of astonishment on his face, realizing that I knew his best friend better than he thought I did. "Did you know that Bella is afraid she won't get to do things that most other people our age get to do, like go off to college, or backpack through Europe, or," I hesitated, then decided he needed to hear, "or know what it feels like to fall in love?"

Jasper looked at me, a look of shock on his face, taking in my words. "I hadn't thought of that," he finally said quietly, looking back down at the floor.

I reached out to the young man, placing my hand on his shoulder to prompt him to look back up at me. "Jasper, I really like you, man, and I really, really like Bella," I added. "I want to do whatever I can to help her through her chemo and whatever else comes up for her, and I know you do, too. I want to do this as a team, because I really feel that is what Bella needs most. You've got to believe me when I say I only want what is best for her. And I wouldn't want to do this unless I was one hundred percent sure that I could follow through on it," I finished, hoping he heard the sincerity of my words.

"I just want Bella to be okay," Jasper finally said, rubbing his forehead in obvious frustration. He let out a big sigh. "I'm sorry for getting in your face like that, Edward. I was kind of freaking out seeing you with her, and seeing how she was looking at you. I just didn't want to see her disappointment if you were playing her."

I stood up then, reaching out my hand to shake his as a sign of forgiveness. "No need to be sorry, Jasper. Bella is lucky to have a friend like you looking out for her." I laughed lightly as he got up and returned the gesture. "I guess I should be happy that Alice likes such a nice guy, too," I added, turning as I saw the girls enter again.

Alice bounded up as Jasper was blushing at my comment, our hands dropping after the friendly shake. "Jasper, my big brother wasn't giving you the old "I'll break your arm if you break her heart" speech about me, was he?" she asked lightly.

Bella came up beside me, looking cautiously between me and Jasper. "Is everything okay here?" she asked seriously.

"Yes," both Jasper and I responded at the same time, laughing after we had said it, smiling at each other with our new found truce.

"Good," Alice said, relief showing on her face. "So are you guys interested in playing a game of pool with us? We're signed up next for the table."

I turned to Bella, deferring the answer to her. "Um," she started, glancing from the other couple to me. "I think Edward was going to show me his music collection first, but maybe after that," she added, turning to Alice and Jasper with an expectant smile.

"Oh forget it," Alice answered. "They'll be looking at CD's and albums for hours if they decide to go through the whole collection," she said as she rolled her eyes. She grabbed Jasper's hand, tugging him toward the doorway of the room, a smile crossing his face at the gesture. "Come on, Jasper, we'll catch up with these guys later," she finished, dancing out of the room with the young man in tow, obviously smitten with her.

"Poor Jasper," I said without thinking, and then looked guiltily at Bella. She was smiling after them as they left the room.

"Oh I don't think there is anything 'poor' about Jasper right now," she said, turning back to me. "So are you ready to show me this "collection" as Alice called it?"

I smiled down at her, again struck by how much I wanted to just reach down and kiss her right there in front of everyone. Restraining myself, I grabbed her hand, pulling her in the same direction Jasper and Alice had just gone. "There will be a pop quiz following the review, so be sure to pay careful attention," I joked. Her light twinkle of laughter behind me warmed my heart. I pushed forward, trying not to think about the fact that she and I would be alone in my bedroom, away from the rest of the guests in the house. I'd just have to try to be on my best behavior, I thought to myself, feeling my heart start to race.

Author's note: Bella plus Edward listening to romantic music alone in a bedroom – I hope I can do it justice in the next chapter…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

BPOV

After leaving the entertainment room we made our way up to his room to see the music collection. Edward had me close my eyes when we got to his bedroom door. I was suddenly very nervous about being alone with him. I wasn't nervous about what he might do. I was actually nervous about what I wanted to do to him. My thoughts still kept going back to what had happened on the bleachers. With my eyes closed and his hands on my waist, leading me to stand in a specific spot in his room, it was hard to get those images out of my head. I wondered if he could hear my heart beating, feeling as though it would explode out of my chest any moment.

"Okay," he whispered, his mouth practically touching my ear as he stood behind me, "you can open your eyes now."

My jaw dropped as I took in the sight in front of me. All along the wall of his room, which had to have been at least fifteen feet across, there were built in shelves from floor to ceiling filled with albums and CD's. I had only seen more music in an actual music store. Bending down to look at some of the albums, it was obvious that some of the items were old but in fantastic condition.

"Where did you get all of this music?" I asked, running my fingers along the CD's to see what I recognized.

"Most of it belonged to my mom's older brother. He died right before I was born. He didn't have any family other than her so she got everything, including his music collection," he finished quietly.

"I'm so sorry," I said, turning to him at the mention of his uncle passing. "That had to have been very difficult for your mother. Were their parents still alive, your grandparents?" I asked, suddenly curious about where Edward came from, and his family history.

"No," he answered, sitting down on a loveseat that sat at the foot of his bed. I sat down next to him, kicking my shoes off and tucking my legs underneath my skirt. "My mother's parents died when she was just a teenager. My Uncle Edward," he emphasized the name with a smile, "was seventeen years older than her, so got control of my grandparent's estate, and my mom, until she reached the age of majority. My mom thought the world of him, and from what my dad has told us, it sounds like the feelings were mutual."

"So is this the whole collection, or was it split up between you and Emmett and Alice?" I asked, still marveling at the volume of items on the shelves.

Edward laughed, understanding my question. "This is the whole thing. Neither Emmett nor Alice ever seemed as interested in music as I did. My mom claims that a part of Uncle Edward passed on to me when I was born, because I showed a love for music from a very early age," he said solemnly.

We talked a little more about his uncle, and it was touching to see Edward open up about his family history. The conversation turned to his musical likes and dislikes, and before I knew it, I was listing off some of my favorite artists. Amazingly, Edward would listen to the name, turn to the wall and within seconds have one of the CD's by that artist in his hand. I was looking over one of the CD's when I decided to ask Edward something that had been eating at me since we had left the entertainment room.

"So what did Jasper want to talk to you about," I asked as nonchalantly as possible. I saw Edward tense a bit at the question as he was looking at some CD's. I thought about backing off, but I really wanted to hear from Edward what they had talked about. I figured I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it.

Edward put on the CD he had been looking at when I asked the question, and a soft, melodic instrumental piece began. He then came and sat down directly in front of me on the coffee table in front of the loveseat so we were face to face. I swallowed, suddenly nervous about what he would say.

"Don't look so worried, Bella," Edward said, sensing my unease. He stood up then, reaching for my hand. "Let's dance, and I'll tell you what we talked about," he said, pulling me up and into the open space in front of the music wall.

He took me into his arms, pulling me close. I let out a quick gasp when he lifted my whole body up and rested my bare feet on his shoes. He smiled at my reaction. "I'd hate for you to go in to the hospital on Monday with a broken toe because I missed a step," he explained. The motion brought our bodies up against one another from chest to knees. It was getting a bit hard to concentrate on his words in such close proximity, so I glanced away from his mouth, which was just in front of my eyes, to the wall behind us, trying to take deep, even breaths.

"Jasper is a very good friend," he started. That caught my attention. I pulled my face back a bit to look fully at his face. He wore that heart-stopping half grin. I turned my gaze back to the wall.

"He is," I agreed, stopping and waiting for him to say more. He seemed to understand I wasn't going to say anything else and continued.

"He's concerned about you getting hurt," he said quietly.

"What?" I practically yelled, again pulling back from Edward a bit to look him full in the face. I had half a mind to march off to find Jasper and tell him to mind his own damn business, which Edward must have read in my look. He smiled and pulled me back to him again. I reluctantly let him.

"Don't get mad at Jasper," he said, keeping his grip tight around my waist. "He noticed how much attention I was giving you tonight and wanted to make sure I didn't," he hesitated, "take advantage of the situation."

"Jasper ought to mind his own business," I mumbled, fuming that my friend had given Edward the fifth degree. "I'm so sorry, Edward," I quickly said, resting my forehead against his chest as he continued to sway me to the music. "No matter how good intentioned he was, he had no right to attack you like that," I finished, mortified at what Edward must be thinking of me and my friends and too embarrassed to look at him.

Edward stopped moving and leaned back to look me in the face. "Bella, you have no reason to apologize. Jasper is just trying to look out for you, and I don't blame him. I'd have done the same thing for my best friend."

My anger got the best of me at that point, and the words came out before I could think to stop them. "Some friend. Maybe I want to be taken advantage of by you, did he ever think of that?" At the realization I had said those words out loud I felt my face heat up. Edward's jaw had dropped at my comment, as he was obviously taken surprise by it as well. I decided that the moment couldn't get any worse, so I made an impulse decision.

I reached up and threw my arms around Edward's neck, pulling his shocked face down to me. Thankfully his lips responded to the touch of mine immediately, his tongue urging my lips apart for entry. I marveled at the softness of his hair again, and then let my one hand wander down to rest against his chest. I felt a hand go up to the back of my head while the arm that had been around my waist lowered slightly so his hand was resting on my hip. His kisses sent electric shocks throughout my body again, and I instinctively pulled myself tighter against him, moaning at the sensations it sent through me.

Without breaking our kiss Edward reached down and lifted me by my bottom, pushing my core so it was flush against his erection. I gasped, giving him the opportunity to lavish his mouth's attention on my neck as he took three long strides to his bed behind the loveseat, crashing down on top of me as he let us both fall to the comforter. In this new position he ground into me even harder, one hand up at my shoulder, pulling down my strap to expose my skin while the other moved down to behind my knee, lifting my leg up to allow him full access to me. It sent the most glorious sensations through my entire body.

Before I could help myself, I was reaching down to pull his dress shirt and t-shirt out of his pants, my hands roaming up his sides, in awe of the lean muscles that I felt rippling under my fingertips. As he continued his kisses down my neck, I let my hands wander around to his chest, grazing his nipples and letting my fingers run through the patch of hair I felt there. I heard his sharp intake of breath.

Edward froze, breathing heavily against my shoulder, his forehead pressed against the mattress next to my head.

"Bella," he almost moaned.

My heart froze in my throat. He sounded as if he was in pain. "Yes?" I responded.

To my complete and utter disappointment, he rose off of me and pulled me up to stand in front of him, his eyes squeezed shut as if waging some battle in his head. He opened his eyes and looked at me, now frowning. "We have to stop, Bella," he said quietly, caressing my check in his hand.

I was hurt by his words, and I let it show. I saw the obvious grimace that it caused him, but I didn't care. I had never felt such amazing things before, and he was taking it away without even giving me a choice. "Fine," I said in a clipped tone. I righted my shoulder strap and straightened the now rumpled skirt of my dress. I went over to the loveseat and started to gather my wrap and shoes. I turned toward the door and almost ran right into Edward's looming figure. He grasped my upper arms to hold me in place in front of him.

"You don't understand, Bella," he said through gritted teeth, obviously not pleased with my cold reaction.

I shrugged off his hands, throwing down the wrap and my shoes onto the loveseat and took what I hoped to be a menacing step closer to him. He eyed me suspiciously, holding his ground. As he still had his shoes on, his 6 foot plus height towered over my 5'5" stature as I stood in my bare feet.

"Why don't you enlighten me, Edward?" I asked rhetorically. "Explain to me why it is so easy for you to stop in the middle of," I hesitated, gesturing toward the bed, "THAT," I emphasized, "so easily." I could feel the tears starting to form behind my eyes, but decided I didn't care. I wanted to get this off my chest because I had nothing to lose.

"Maybe you didn't feel much," I continued, "but you were making me feel things I had never felt before," I said, trying to ignore the tears that were now starting to streak down my cheeks. Edward took a step toward me, anguish on his face. I held up my hands to stop him, taking a step back myself to keep him from touching me, afraid that I wouldn't be able to continue at the feel of his hands on me.

"I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm so afraid I'm going to miss out on so many things because of this cancer. The feelings, the sensations that I just had with you, I don't know if I'll be able to feel those again with someone. It's like you've given me a taste of this paradise and you're taking it away before I can fully experience it. If I had never had a sample of it, I wouldn't know what I was missing. But you've ruined that. It's all you're fault," I finished, crossing my arms in front of me and sniffling like a petulant child.

Edward stood there, staring at me with no expression on his face. I had no idea what he was thinking. He reached up and ran his hand through his hair, which may have helped calm him, but only sent more shivers through me, even in my current state of upset.

"Are you done now?" he asked, looking at me for a reaction. I could tell he wanted to say more. I nodded my head slightly. He took a step toward me and leaned his face down to mine. I saw his hands flex as though eager to touch something, but he let them fall down to his sides. I held my ground, refusing to be intimidated by his seeming anger, which I thought he had no right to feel.

"Let me make a couple of things perfectly clear, Bella," he started, barely speaking above a whisper. This was a side of Edward I had never seen, and it suddenly made me a bit uncomfortable. I felt my anger start to ebb. "First, stopping 'that'," he gestured toward the bed, just as I had, "as you put it, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do." He stopped, watching his words sink in with me before continuing.

"Second," he whispered, closing the gap between our bodies and wrapping his arms around me, placing a long, slow kiss on my mouth, "I want nothing more right now than to lay you back down on that bed and make sweet, slow love to you until the sun rises."

The seduction in his voice was setting off all sorts of alarms in my head, but I didn't care. My heart raced at his words, the electric currents intensifying in my body as we stood there, our bodies and mouths pressed together.

He pulled back from our kiss, leaning his forehead against mine. I was amazed to realize he seemed as breathless over the moment as I was.

"Third, I don't want us to rush into doing something we'll regret later on." I started to say something, but he put his finger on my lips. He looked me straight in the eye then. "Bella, I'm falling in love with you, and I want to give you what you want, but I want our first time together to be perfect."

Edward was falling in love with me. I didn't know what to say.

"Do you trust me?" he asked then, going back to kissing my neck.

"Yes," I responded breathlessly, with no hesitation. I truly did trust Edward.

"Then let me give you something tonight," he whispered in between kisses. "Let me give you at least a piece of paradise," he finished.

I had no strength to actually speak, but nodded my head, groaning as he lifted me again by my butt and pressed my core into his groin, engulfing my mouth with his.

He strode to the door, and I heard him lock it as he held me up with one arm, leaning my back into the wood, never breaking our kiss. Next, he stepped to his desk, pulling out the chair and setting me down on my feet. He sat on the chair and pushed it back even further. I watched his face, not sure what he wanted me to do.

He reached out and grasped my waist in both hands, then steered me to turn around so my back was to him. "Sit down on my lap," he said huskily, lowering my bottom onto him. My heart was racing at the feel of his hard cock underneath me.

He reached around me with his hands and touched my knees, spreading them so they were on the outside of his legs. I could feel his warm breath against my ear as he did this, looking over my shoulder. "If you want me to stop, all you have to do is say the word, and I'll stop," he whispered, kissing that spot underneath my ear that sent shivers through my whole body. I nodded my head in response.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity any longer, turning my face toward where his mouth had been against my neck. I could turn around enough so my lips were practically touching his. He looked down at my mouth, licking his lips, which sent another jolt through me. Then he leaned in and started kissing me, his tongue probing my mouth in slow, wet strokes. As he did that, I felt his hands touch my knees under my dress skirt.

He continued his attention to my lips as I felt his hands move up my legs, massaging the bare skin on the tops of my thighs, then moving to massage the inside of them in slow, circular strokes. His long, warm fingers sent shock waves up to my core, and I started to instinctively slide my body down his lap to bring it closer to his hands.

He immediately obliged, sliding them up to my panties, running his fingers along the seams inside my thighs. The sensations were mind blowing, and I gasped, pulling away from his lips. He continued using his mouth on my neck, inching toward one shoulder strap. Again I found myself yearning for his kisses to keep going on my skin unhindered, and reached up to pull the strap down for him.

His hands continued to graze along my panties, finding the tops of them. "Can I take these off, Bella?" he asked as he continued to kiss my neck and shoulder.

"Yes," I answered, adjusting my body so he could slide them down my legs. I lifted my thighs together so he could maneuver them down to my knees, then I felt the panties slide to the ground in front of us. He quickly resituated me so my legs were again spread wide in front of him.

I again felt him bring his hands up my thighs, running his fingers up to where my panty seams had been. I moaned as he let the fingertips of his right hand barely brush against my slit. He brought his left hand up to the shoulder he wasn't kissing and pulled the other shoulder strap down. I felt the bodice of my dress shift slightly, and looked down to see that the strapless bra I wore was almost entirely exposed. Surprisingly, I didn't care. All I could think about were the sensations that his fingers were making down between my legs.

Edward reached his left hand to splay it on my stomach, letting his thumb rest underneath my left breast while he continued his hot kisses on my shoulder. I could hear myself panting as his right hand circled down by my core, never quite making full contact with my slit, but grazing over it. The tingling sensation down between my legs was growing with every pass of his fingers, and I couldn't help but grind my bottom into his erect cock underneath me.

That got a reaction. He reached up with his left hand and turned my face to his, covering my mouth, probing hotly with his tongue. As I marveled at the sensations his mouth was causing, I felt his right hand press into my crotch, grinding against my folds. I moaned into his mouth. Then I felt him slip a single finger tip into me. Sensing my focus shifting to his hand versus his lips, Edward broke the kiss. I could feel his panting breath on my ear as he let his one finger dip in and out of me, putting it in a little further each time he did it in the slow rhythm he had set. My hips started to react, trying to press toward his hand, urging him to go deeper. He took the hint and slid it in all the way, slowly, in and out.

"You feel so perfect, Bella," he whispered, and then sucked gently on my ear lobe, sending another surge of currents down to my core.

He continued pumping me with his hand, and then I felt a slight change in the sensation. I groaned, letting my head fall back. "Oh my God, Edward, what did you just do?" I asked, breathless. The currents running through my body were building, to what, I didn't know.

"I'm using two fingers now. Do you like that?" he asked, continuing his ministrations.

"Yes," I answered, groaning again.

Just when I didn't think I could take anymore, I felt his left hand slide down into my bra, cupping my left breast. I looked down at his hand, amazed at how erotic it was to watch him tease my nipple with his long, strong fingers. He pushed the bra down so both breasts were exposed to the cool air in his room, taking turns playing with one nipple, then the other with his free hand, all the while pumping me with his other hand. I watched as he licked his fingertip before rubbing it against my exposed nipple, making it rise under his touch. I moaned.

At the same time as he lavished attention on my breasts, I could feel the base of his hand grazing against my clit as he pushed his fingers in and out of me. I ground even more against his cock, feeling the tension building, not wanting it to end.

"Don't stop," I whispered breathlessly, moving my hips in time with his hand, spreading my legs even wider for him.

Edward's breaths were coming as fast as mine, clearly as turned on as I was by what he was doing. "Put your right arm around my neck," he whispered harshly into my right ear, kneading my left breast as he continued pumping me with his other hand. I did as he instructed, realizing belatedly what his objective was.

I had turned slightly toward him to accomplish the task he had requested, which brought my right breast up to his face. He let his mouth plunge down on it, sucking and licking it as he held me tight against him. That was the last straw. I felt the tension start to break, a euphoria spread through my body in wave after wave as the orgasm hit me, throwing my head back and moaning his name as it washed over me. I instinctively squeezed my knees together, thereby pressing his hand into my core as he expertly circled my clit, prolonging the sensations going through my entire being.

As the shocks inside me settled, I remained draped back, my arm still wrapped around Edward's neck, barely registering that my breasts were both still fully exposed. I felt him pull my skirt back down around my legs, which felt like jelly. He then pulled my legs so I was sitting sideways on his lap, pulling me in toward him and wrapping his arms around me. He placed light kisses along my cheeks and across the bridge of my nose. I sighed happily, letting a small smile form.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, pulling back to look me in the eye, concern on his face.

I blushed under his scrutiny, unable to suppress the smile on my face. I nodded my head quickly, burying my face into his neck as the realization of what had just happened sank in. I felt more than heard his chuckle at my reaction, as he lazily started to run his hand in slow circles on my back.

"Did you like that?" he whispered, clearly pleased with himself and the response he had gotten from me. Without raising my head I nodded, still unable to suppress my grin.

I put my lips to his ear, placing a small kiss before whispering, "thank you, Edward." I felt his arms tighten around me in response, marveling at the sense of contentment that enveloped me at the gesture.

"We better get back downstairs before someone comes looking for us," Edward said, tipping my chin up so he could place a long, slow kiss on my mouth. I sighed, suddenly feeling the time of night, or more correctly, early morning, weighing down on me.

"I'd rather just stay right here," I said, snuggling more closely into him.

"As much as I would love that," he said, kissing the top of my head, "I don't think my parents or Charlie would be real happy about me keeping you to myself. Plus, if you're that tired, maybe I should get you home," he said, worry intertwined with his words.

"No," I said too loudly, looking at him full in the face. "I don't want to go home yet, please," I begged. I wasn't ready to be away from him quite yet.

He smiled, kissing the worried frown from my forehead. "I'm in no rush to get rid of you, Bella. But let's at least get ourselves put together before someone comes up here."

"Okay," I agreed reluctantly, still feeling slightly tingly all over. He helped me up from his lap, assisting me in adjusting my dress back to normal, and then pushed the chair back up against the desk as I stepped back into my panties. I stifled a yawn as I went over to the loveseat to retrieve my shoes and wrap while Edward unlocked the door, pulling it open slightly.

"Do you need to use the bathroom," he asked me, gesturing toward the closed door at the end of his room.

"No, I'm okay," I said, again yawning. He smiled at me, gently kissing me on the forehead.

"You look like you're ready to pass out. Why don't you lie down on the loveseat and rest for a minute before we go downstairs. I just need a minute," he explained, gesturing toward the bathroom, "and then we can go back down to see what Alice and Jasper are up to." He led me to the loveseat as he finished, covering me with a soft patchwork quilt before excusing himself.

I sighed happily, relaxing and closing my eyes, letting my thoughts drift back to what had just transpired. I couldn't believe it had actually happened, but more so I marveled at Edward's declaration that he was falling in love with me. I knew some guys said that to get you in bed, but he had actually not slept with me, even though I had practically demanded it. He had no reason to say it unless he really meant it.

I lay there, feeling myself drift off as I heard him enter the bathroom, softly shutting the door behind him. With the door to the hallway open, I caught screams and laughs from the kids that were still hanging out for the party. I continued to let myself drift, feeling sleep come over me, feeling true peace in my heart for the first time since hearing those horrible words from the doctor. Suddenly I truly felt that everything was going to turn out all right.

Author's Note: Too over the top? Did I make Bella out to be too easy? Please, please post reviews/comments.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

EPOV

I jumped into the cold shower, letting the sting of the water soothe my overcharged body. Bella was resting out in my room, and I was trying to calm my own urges after what we had just experienced. I wasn't a virgin, but I had never done anything like that with someone before. I wasn't even sure how she would react to the idea, but obviously she had enjoyed it, much to my pleasure.

Remembering her reaction I turned the water a tad bit colder, trying to tame my own desires. I had been with other women before in various capacities, but had never had someone react to my attentions or been as uninhibited as Bella. It wasn't based on experience for her since I knew she hadn't had a serious boyfriend the entire time she was in Forks, and there were the girls that had "that" reputation, like Lauren, but Bella was not in that class. I was sure that if this cancer thing had not come up, this never would have happened, and she never would have been so eager to open herself up to such things.

I finished my shower then wrapped myself in a towel to get a fresh change of clothes in the other room. Bella was breathing evenly on the loveseat, but I decided to dress in the bathroom so as not to disturb her. She looked so peaceful. Once dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, I sat down on the coffee table and simply watched Bella sleep for a while. I had no idea how long I had been sitting there when I heard my door creak. Jasper and Alice let themselves in and caught sight of Bella sleeping. All three of us stepped out into the hallway.

"We were wondering what was taking you guys so long up here," Alice said, winking at me. I immediately looked back into the room, afraid my little sister could somehow see what I had done to Bella.

"We were talking about Uncle Edward and listening to music," I said, turning back to them now that I was telling at least part of the truth. "By the way, Jasper, does Bella have an iPod?"

"Yeah, why?" he responded, frowning at my question.

"I thought with her chemo next week I'd put some new music on it for her. I've got a bunch of CD's set aside that she said she liked, but it sounded like she only owned some of them," I finished, getting more and more excited about my surprise for her. "Do you think you could get your hands on it for me?"

Jasper looked unsure. "I don't know, Edward. I know exactly where it is right now. I'd bet $100 it's sitting on her night stand next to her bed. She usually listens to it while she's falling asleep every night. That essentially gives you today to get the music on it before she goes to sleep tonight."

"Why don't we run by her house right now and grab it?" Alice chimed in, looking between me and Jasper. "We'll just call over to see if Charlie can get it from her room."

"I don't know," I said, looking at my watch. It was almost 2 AM. "I don't think you guys knocking on the door of the Police Chief at 2 AM is such a good idea."

Alice rolled her eyes, starting to turn Jasper back toward the stairs. "Come on, Jasper, we're on a mission," she whispered loudly. As usual, Jasper just smiled down at her. Nothing she did seemed to irk him. More power to him if he wanted to be in a relationship with my sister!

I went back in my room and started sorting the CD's I wanted to use for the playlist I was going to create for Bella. Every once in a while I'd look over to make sure she was still out, and I'd find her in the exact same position she was in before, and always with that slight smile on her face. A couple of times I heard her say something, but by the time I turned around she was back to that smile.

My mom came in a bit later, obviously having been brought up to speed on our little plan by Alice. She fussed over Bella for a bit, and then came over to check what CD's I had in front of me.

"Wow, a girl with the same musical interests as you. Isn't that convenient," she said, giggling. I rolled my eyes at her typical "mom" comment. "Edward, I think it's really nice what you're doing for Bella," she then said, placing her hand on my forearm.

I looked at her smiling, but noted her worried expression. "I feel a "but" coming on."

Esme smiled. "Edward, you've always been the one I worry about the most, you know that," she started. She had always told me that, but I never understood why. I just kept looking at her expectantly. "You've always seemed to keep yourself more closed off from people than your brother or sister. Now I see you lavishing all sorts of attention on this girl you barely know, and a sick girl at that."

I turned around at her last comment and quietly steered her from my room so we would be out of earshot from where Bella lay on the loveseat. I loved my mother more than anything, but I was not very happy with her right now. I tried to keep my voice even because I wanted to understand where she was coming from. "What exactly are you afraid is going to happen, Mom?"

"Edward, let me say first that I love you and trust you implicitly," she said, grabbing my hand. I nodded at her. "And I think the world of Bella. It broke my heart when I heard the news about her cancer," she continued. "I'm just afraid given everything going on with her right now that now might not be a good time to start something with her." She looked up at me, gauging my reaction.

I stood there for a moment, trying to sort out how I had gotten to this point with Bella, and how to explain it to my mom to ease her concern. I knew she had my best interest at heart, but I also knew I couldn't walk away from Bella.

"Mom, I've been spending the last year, year and a half, dating all sorts of different women at school, playing the field and keeping my options open. Some of those women I've really enjoyed getting to know, but I never felt a real connection with any of them. I just look at the girl in there," I gestured toward my bedroom door, "and it affects me. I feel like I can talk to her about anything, I enjoy spending time with her, and I feel genuinely happy being around her," I continued. "I know the situation isn't ideal, but does that mean that I should just ignore my gut feelings because she's going through a difficult time right now?"

Esme reached up and put her hand on my cheek, her eyes brimming with tears. "When did my baby become so grown up?" she stated, smiling at me.

"Aw, Mom," I said, putting my arms around her in an embrace. "I don't want you to cry. I just want you to know that I'm happy."

She pulled back, looking more serious. "But sweetheart, what if something goes wrong? I know your dad said her prognosis is very good, but what if," she trailed off, unable to actually say the words. She then looked down at her hands. "I just don't want to see you hurt."

"I know, Mom. But my mind is made up. I'm going to help Bella get through this any way that I can, as long as she'll have me," I said. "She means a lot to me already. I can't change that," I finished, waiting for her reply.

Esme smiled again, taking a deep breath. "If that is your decision, then your father and I will support you in whatever way we can," she said determinedly.

I reached out and hugged her again, thanking her, knowing that this would be the last talk of her questioning my feelings for Bella.

"Now, I was thinking you should probably put Bella in the extra bedroom if she's asleep for the night. She's only got one day before her chemo starts, so she should be sleeping in a real bed and getting a good sleep," Esme said, kicking into mom-mode.

"I think Charlie was expecting her in a few hours," I interjected as I followed her into the bedroom next to mine. It was made up in a delicate pink hue with a canopy queen sized bed.

"Don't worry about Chief Swan," she said, "I'll call him and let him know where she'll be. Maybe we can even have a nice brunch in the early afternoon and invite him over. Lord knows we're going to have plenty of leftovers from tonight," she said, pulling back the comforter and sheets on the bed in preparation for Bella. "I'll even call Alice and ask her to bring some extra clothes for Bella so she can just get up and shower here. Do you think she'd be okay with that?" she asked, turning to me with a look of worry.

I laughed, amazed at the complete turn around. I really did love my mother. "I'm sure she'll be fine with whatever. I don't think Bella is very particular about anything, Mom."

"All right," she said, heading out of the room. "You bring her in here and get her settled. I'm going to go call your sister," she said, already on her way down the stairs. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she called quietly before disappearing out of sight.

I shook my head, amazed at the woman. I then went into my room to check on Bella, hoping our talking hadn't woken her. She was still out. I gently lifted her, amazed at how light she was. I had heard Alice mentioning that she had lost some weight over the last month or so, but holding her in my arms like this made me realize just how fragile she was. I held her close as I carried her, trying to be careful not to wake her.

I had gotten her into the bed and was just pulling the covers up over her when her eyes slowly opened. She looked at me, then around the room, then at me again, a slight frown on her face.

"My mom insisted you try to keep sleeping here, at our house, since you've got such a big day Monday," I said, sitting down next to her slight frame.

"I don't remember your room being pink," she said, shutting her eyes and snuggling back down into the pillows.

I laughed, amazed at her continued humor, even in the face of something as serious and deadly as cancer. "This is our guest bedroom. My room is right next door if you need me," I said, tucking the covers more closely around her.

Still keeping her eyes closed, she asked, "can you sit with me for a while until I fall back to sleep?"

"Sure," I said, swinging my legs up so my back was against the head board. I fussed with the blankets a bit again, noting the smile that was still on Bella's face. "You know you've been wearing that smile the whole time you've been sleeping," I said quietly, brushing her hair back from her face a bit. That seemed to just make her smile even more, but I noticed that this time it came with one of her infamous blushes. I leaned down a bit closer to her. "What are you thinking about that has you smiling so much," I whispered, hoping I knew what it was, but wanting to hear it from her.

"Just reminiscing," she said nonchalantly, still wearing a huge grin on her face.

"Reminiscing about what?" I prodded, enjoying the little game she was playing.

"About earlier," she stated, still holding back on me.

"Earlier when?" I whispered, listening for my mom coming back up the stairs. I didn't hear anything. I leaned down and placed a slow, lingering kiss on her mouth. I felt her jump a bit, not expecting it, but then her hands snaked out from under the covers and she put her hands into my hair at the back of my head, deepening the kiss. I broke off the kiss, hearing Esme coming. My mother entered the room, obviously not suspecting anything.

Seeing Bella's eyes open, she came over to us. "Bella, sweetheart, I just talked to your dad, and he's agreed you should probably just stay here since you're already pretty much down for the night," she said, fussing over the blankets Bella had just messed by grabbing me.

Bella blushed, clearly not used to such doting. "Is he really okay, because if he's upset, I can just head home? I don't want to be a bother," she said, starting to sit up.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Esme said, tucking her back into the bed. "He sounded like he had been waiting up for you, so he'll probably be sleeping better knowing that you're staying with your doctor," she said with a wink. A look of surprise crossed Bella's face, clearly not thinking of it from that angle. "I even told him Carlisle had given you the once over a couple hours ago, and I think that helped settle it for him. So you just relax and sleep as long as you want. We're going to have brunch after everyone is able to roll out of bed, and you're dad is coming for that as well," she finished, turning off all but one low light in the room.

Esme looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to join her at the door to leave Bella. "I'm going to just hang out here for a few minutes, Mom," I said, leaving no room for debate. "I'll come downstairs in a few minutes to help with any cleanup," I added, letting her know I really wasn't going to be long.

"Okay," she responded, not showing any signs of disagreement or displeasure. I was happy to see she was keeping her word from earlier. "You get a good rest, Bella, and sleep as long as you like. There's no rush. It's Sunday, a day of rest. And I'll see you downstairs shortly," she added giving me a smile.

Bella and I both said our thanks as she exited, then I turned back to her, playing with her hair again. "You really should get some rest, Bella," I said, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I would love to stay up and help you guys downstairs, but I really can't," she said, looking a bit frustrated.

"Don't worry," I said, snuggling my body up closer to her. "Just close your eyes and think happy thoughts. I'll be around when you wake up," I added, wanting to put her at ease as much as possible.

"Thank you," she whispered, already drifting off.

"You're welcome," I said, kissing her gently on the top of her head.

"I mean for everything," she added, looking up at me with her beautiful brown eyes. "You've made this the most perfect night possible, Edward. I'm never going to forget it," she finished, reaching up and kissing my hand that was playing with her hair, closing her eyes again.

I felt tears start to form behind my eyes, but blinked them back, embarrassed at the emotions this girl invoked in me. I cleared my throat, wanting to say my next words to her clearly. "I hope to make this the first of many perfect days and nights for you, Bella," I said, caressing her cheek.

She looked at me one more time with those eyes, smiling as she said, "as long as you are in them, they will be perfect." Then she kissed the hand I had on her face one more time, and closed her eyes for the night.

I wasn't sure how long I had sat there, just staring at her as she slept, but I figured I better get downstairs before Esme came back up. I didn't want anyone else to be a part of what had just transpired between us.

I slipped out of the room, closing the door half way, and then headed out to find Jasper and Alice to see if they had the iPod. I still had quite a bit of work cut out for me before the sun came up.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

ONE WEEK AFTER PROM

BPOV

After going to chemotherapy every other day for the last six days, I was absolutely convinced that cancer sucked. It wasn't finding the first clump of hair on my pillow this morning before my appointment, or feeling nauseated for six hours straight and throwing up before I went to bed last night. The worst was the two young kids that I had gotten to know this week while getting my chemo at the Forks Hospital.

Dean, who was eight, had been dealing with his cancer since he was three, and was on his third bout with it. Charlie had shared with me a conversation he had with Dean's mother the other day, and unfortunately it didn't sound very good for him. The "cocktail" he was on (as I now knew they called the mix of chemo drugs given to a patient) was his last hope for remission.

Elizabeth was thirteen and was just in for some maintenance chemo. She was a sweet, shy girl who had just been diagnosed last year. Fortunately for her she had stayed cancer-free for six months. She had been a wealth of information as far as what she had experienced when she had first gone through chemo. It was funny and sad at the same time how Dean would pipe in periodically to say that he remembered something Elizabeth would mention, or that he didn't remember "that part", but he was only three when he had it done, so "what do you expect?" he would say.

The spirit of these young kids and the affect my cancer had on all of my friends is what stayed with me the most these days. I had gotten into a pretty regular routine over the week. My treatments generally started at around 10 AM every other day. It would take the nurses a while to get my IV situated, and then it was just a waiting game for the IV bags to empty into me. Charlie took me the first day, with both of us surprised to find Edward waiting in the chemo room to sit with me during my appointment. It went by slowly, compounded by the fact that Charlie didn't seem very comfortable in the hospital setting, especially around little kids. He was great with the nurses and other staff, but had always been a little abrupt with kids, even when I was little. He was visibly relieved that first night on the way home when I insisted that he go to work while I got my chemo the rest of the week, assuring him that Edward, Angela or Jasper would be around to keep me company then get me home.

The daily routine had been established then. On the days when I was home, Mrs. Hale would come and check on me after Charlie left for work. Edward would show up at some point in the morning, bringing magazines, books, DVD's or puzzle books with him to keep me entertained. I finally had to tell him the day before to stop bringing stuff because I had enough to keep me busy for six months. Mrs. Hale would go back home for a while, and then bring us a nice lunch. Charlie usually stopped by after lunch to check in while out on patrol. At first I don't think he knew how to take Edward always being there, but I think he was just happy I wasn't sitting alone while my high school friends were in school. By mid-afternoon Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Angela and others would stop by, dropping off homework notes or just to hang out. Esme would then come by just before Charlie got home and bring us dinner, thankfully, keeping me from having to do the cooking.

On days I had chemo, Edward would come by to take me to my treatment, and then he'd bring me home in the early afternoon. Sometimes I ate the lunch that Mrs. Hale had waiting for us, but yesterday I hadn't felt like it. Charlie would pop in on schedule, and then my friends would arrive, followed by Esme or one of the other moms bringing dinner for me and Charlie.

Usually it was just me and Charlie for dinner, but eventually my friends would pop in again, or one of his good buddies, like Billy Black from the reservation, would stop in. Edward always came back in the evenings, and was usually the last one to leave the house. I know Charlie was skeptical about Edward's constant presence, but he saw that it lifted my spirits, and with Edward serving me hand and foot, it gave Charlie less to worry about.

My mother was supposed to have come on Wednesday, but had been delayed due to her boss going into labor with her baby one month early and leaving Renee in charge of the antique shop she worked at. She had been so upset when she called on Monday night to tell us what had happened, but both Charlie and I assured her that there was plenty of support here for us. We also promised to call her everyday with updates, and so far it was going well.

The hardest part of the week was seeing everyone's reaction as I started to feel the side-effects of the chemo. On that part I was thankful my mother wasn't here. Of all of my friends, Angela seemed to be taking it the hardest. I know she had seen her grandmother waste away with cancer a few years back, so I think it reminded her of that. She had stopped coming altogether on Thursday, although she would still call every evening to check up on me. I could tell Jasper was disappointed in her reaction, but I assured him that it was actually easier on me not having to see her in such anguish. However, I told him that he did not get a free pass, so he better just keep planning on coming by everyday. He had laughed at that, as I knew he liked to come visit me, no matter how poorly I felt when he came. I didn't know if it was because he usually had Alice with him or not, but he remained upbeat and optimistic as to my condition, and always seemed to put everyone else at ease while he was there.

The group that had surprised me most was the Cullen family. Edward had become a constant at my side, entertaining me, comforting me, or simply sitting with me. I was forever telling him that if he wanted a break I wouldn't be hurt by it. By Friday, after hearing me say that all week, he finally said he was getting a complex and that I was starting to sound like a broken record.

Alice was even more of a surprise, charming the heck out of Charlie and becoming a fast friend to me. She was also the one who would help me with getting ready for bed as the week went on and my strength started to falter as she was the only female around most of the time. All of the guys seemed relieved about that.

Even Esme had become a fixture at the house, providing reassuring words to Charlie and even helping ease Rene's concerns via phone. Her motherly presence was a blessing to everyone that was there.

It was hard at first to let myself be taken care of by everyone, since I had always seemed to be the one doing the care giving before. However, I quickly realized that the harder I pushed myself, the worse I felt, so surrender had come right away.

I looked at my clock, shocked that it was already almost dinner time. I could hear voices downstairs. Being Saturday the house had been filled with people most of the day, with the same faces that I saw in the morning when I had gone in for my chemo still here this afternoon upon my return. I had come right up to my room after getting back from the hospital at around 1:30 PM, totally exhausted. I had probably slept for about three hours and wanted to sleep more, but my nausea was back, much to my disgust. I literally rolled out of bed, trying to not make any noise so as not to draw any attention and have the hordes come running to help. I just wanted to throw up in peace right now.

I sat there on the floor, my head leaning back onto the bed with my eyes closed, taking deep breaths to try to gain the energy to get to the bathroom. It was then that I heard a creak by the window of my room. Without opening my eyes I knew who it was. Not feeling in a very charitable mood, I said accusingly, "have you been sitting there the whole time I was asleep?"

I heard a soft chuckle, then a deep, soft voice. "No, I was standing for a while to stretch my legs," Edward answered sarcastically. "You want me to go get the Zofran for you?" he asked, referring to my anti-nausea medicine.

"Yes, please," I answered, noting the concern in his voice and wanting to ease it, no matter how horrible I felt. He came back with the pill, a glass of water and a cool cloth, sitting next to me on the floor. I thanked him weakly then took the pill.

"May I?" he asked, holding out the wet cloth to put it on my forehead. I nodded, feeling a bit of relief at the coolness as I let my head fall back against the bed again. "Do you want to try to eat something?" he asked, concern still laced in his voice. I shook my head. Then he did what he always did. He just sat quietly by me, not pressuring me to eat or drink or even talk. His presence was such a comfort. I wanted to tell him that, but I also wanted to enjoy the comfortable moment, so thought I would wait until later to tell him. I felt him kiss my hand, which was also something I was getting way too used to. Whether we were at the hospital or just sitting here at the house, he would take time when it was just the two of us to show me some form of affection. It always warmed my heart.

I finally got the energy to get up and go downstairs. Without saying a word, Edward helped me, getting me seated in the corner of the sofa where I could see everything going on in the house. Jasper and Alice were there, along with Billy and his son, Jacob, who was a couple years younger than me. Jacob and I had played together as children, and I had seen him at gatherings in La Push, the reservation where he and Billy lived. They had their own separate school system, so Jacob didn't know any of my friends when this had all started, but he seemed to be getting along with them well now. Where Edward was my comfort, Jacob was my light. The kid constantly had a smile on his face, and you couldn't help but be lifted by his spirits when you were around him. The only one Jacob didn't seem to smile around was Edward. He seemed to disapprove at his constantly being at my side. And Edward didn't seem to like all the attention Jacob would give me when he was at the house. I had to roll my eyes at the whole situation given the circumstances.

"Look who finally decided to roll out of bed," Jacob said with a big smile, glancing up from the game of monopoly that he was playing with Jasper and Alice on the coffee table. I laughed, enjoying his ribbing.

To my surprise, Esme and Carlisle came out of the kitchen, smiling. "Bella, how did you sleep?" Esme asked, always the picture of motherly concern.

"Good," I responded, "just feeling a little nauseated when I woke up," I added.

"Did you take some Zofran?" Carlisle asked. Carlisle was always in doctor mode, just as Esme was always in mother mode.

"I made sure she took some," Edward interjected, eyeing me as I sat there. He reached out and felt my forehead, a look of concern on his face that had not been there when we had been upstairs. "Dad, does Bella feel warm to you?" he asked, turning to Carlisle.

Carlisle immediately came over, feeling my forehead and neck. "Does your throat hurt, Bella?" he asked, still feeling my neck and throat area.

"A little," I said, noting a scowl on Edward's face for not mentioning it earlier. They had been drilling in my head all week that I had to let them know any symptoms I experienced. I tried to justify my oversight, answering truthfully, "I thought it was just because I was sick so many times last night."

Carlisle, sensing my guilt, smiled. "You're right, your throat would be a bit sore from that. But Edward is right, you do feel a bit feverish. Charlie, do you have a thermometer in the house?" he asked, turning to my dad.

Alice popped up. "I know where it is," she stated, dashing up the steps and returning in a flash. She handed it to her dad, who promptly stuck it in my mouth. Upon the beep of the electric thermometer, he looked at it, his brows furrowing at what he saw. He turned to Charlie. "She does have a low grade fever right now. I want to keep an eye on it tonight." He turned back to Bella, smiling. "I don't want you to worry. I just want to make sure there's no underlying infection going on. If there is, we would just need to treat it right away. You're immune system is compromised right now due to the chemo, so just something to keep in mind," he finished, feeling my forehead again.

Charlie had come over to stand next to him, worry on his face. "When do you think we'll know if it is an infection of some sort?" he asked, feeling my head himself.

"It may be nothing, Charlie. But it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to take her temp every half hour while she's awake this evening, then every hour after she goes to bed." He looked at Charlie, gauging his response.

Alice saw Charlie's look of discomfort at the thought of caring for Bella alone over night, especially if there was a chance something was wrong. "Why doesn't Bella come stay the night at our house? She can sleep in the extra bedroom" she stated, looking to her mom.

Esme smiled. "That's perfect, Alice." She turned to Charlie. "That way, if you're called out on police business, she's not here alone. And she would be under the same roof as her doctor," she added, smiling reassuringly.

Relief swept across Charlie's face. "I sure do appreciate that Esme," he said, running his hand through his hair. "You're sure it's not too much trouble?" he asked one last time.

"I'll even stay with her in the extra room," Alice added, giving Charlie a friendly nudge. He smiled at her, and it again reminded me of how easily the Cullen's had become enmeshed in our lives. I turned to look at Edward, wondering at his reaction to this whole thing.

He was looking at me seriously, obviously caught off guard by my glancing at him. He smiled quickly, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze, but it was clear that he was more concerned than he was letting on.

Esme piped in then. "Well, the pasta is ready, so everyone can go ahead and help themselves to a plate." She turned to Edward and Alice. "You two be sure to clean up everything in there before you bring Bella to the house," she stated. "We'll head home after dinner and make sure the room is ready," she added, turning to smile at me.

"Thank you," I said simply, still amazed at how generous everyone was being with their time and energy through all of this. With that, Esme and Carlisle left, off to meet some friends for dinner. The rest of the group went to help themselves to a plate of the spaghetti that Carlisle had prepared, all except Edward.

"Aren't you going to get a plate?" I asked, suddenly worried about him myself. I had noticed as the week went on that as my appetite diminished, so had his. I didn't want him getting sick on my conscience.

"I'm going to wait until the rush is over," he replied casually, kissing my hand now that we were alone. "Do you want me to get you something? Watermelon? Crackers?" he asked, listing all the things the nurse had suggested to eat to help my nausea.

I laughed at his attention. "I'm fine for right now. But I might have some noodles in a little bit," I added, hoping that would prompt him to eat.

The rest of the evening went by in a flash with all the various guests. Rosalie and Emmett stopped in for a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Hale after dinner, so the house was pretty crowded. Thankfully Esme and Carlisle had made enough dinner to feed an army, so everyone that was there ate heartily. Much to my relief, Edward finally ate, but only after I asked for some food. I started nodding off at around 8 PM, and that was everyone's cue to start heading out. Alice and Jasper decided to head out to the Cullen house to get the guest room ready for me for the night. My low grade fever had stayed steady the entire evening, and I was feeling pretty silly about the whole thing by the time Edward took me out to his car to drive me to his house. We said our goodbyes to Charlie, assuring him that someone would call him if anything came up. He gave me a big hug, telling me he loved me before seeing us off.

Now that my medicine had kicked in and I had been able to eat a little something, I was feeling pretty good compared to earlier in the day. I was happy to be truly alone with Edward and out of the house, so asked him if we could stop at the beach park that was on the way to his house just out of town. He eyed me suspiciously, but agreed.

I had enjoyed having him with me all week, but after what we had shared the previous weekend, was getting a little impatient at settling for just the hand-holding, kisses on the forehead, and such. I wanted to take advantage of our alone time and my feeling a bit better, knowing that could change any moment. Just thinking about what had happened after the prom sent my heart racing. I almost let out a small giggle, to which Edward immediately asked if I was okay. I assured him I was, and decided to try to think of other things until we got to the park.

The evening air was cool now that the sun was almost all the way down on the horizon, but it felt good on my skin as we got out of the car and went to sit on a picnic table nearby. I climbed up and sat on the tabletop, motioning Edward to sit right next to me. He did so, smiling his wildly sexy crooked smile at me.

"What are you up to, Bella Swan?" he finally asked, noting the big grin on my face as I looked out over the beautiful remains of the sunset.

"Nothing," I replied innocently. I waited for a moment, to see if he would sayor do anything more. When he didn't, I added, "Actually, I was wondering if you would do me a favor." I looked up to see his reaction. He was staring at me, seriously again, trying to read into my request. I couldn't help but burst out laughing at his look.

That crooked smile came back. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"I'm not asking you to fly to Paris with me or anything like that," I said, smiling.

To my relief, the serious look had lifted from his face, and he was smiling back at me. "Okay, Bella," he stated, turning his body fully toward me to show I had his undivided attention. "Tell me what you want, and I'll do my best to help."

I leaned in a bit toward him, keeping full eye contact. "Kiss me," I whispered, trying not to audibly gulp to show how nervous I was. His eyes did get serious then.

"Bella," he started. I immediately interrupted.

"Edward, it's a simple request that I know you can help me with. Unless you want me to go ask someone else," I added innocently, shrugging.

That seemed to tip the scale in my favor. He narrowed his eyes at me a bit, but then reached up to place one hand on my cheek, caressing my face gently. I closed my eyes, feeling his breath on my face as he leaned down toward me.

He placed a gentle, chaste kiss on my lips, and then started to pull back. I huffed at the brevity of his gesture, and decided if he wasn't going to do it properly, I would have to.

I flung my arms around him, burying my hands in his hair. I pressed my lips against his, teasing his lower lip with my tongue hesitantly, wondering if I was doing it the right way. I must have been, because in the next moment, Edward's arms were wrapped fully around me and he was deepening the kiss, allowing me access to his mouth as our tongues tangled. I pulled myself even closer, and somehow I ended up on his lap. Yearning for more contact I grabbed his hand that was on my leg and pulled it to rest just under my shirt on my waist, the touch of skin on skin sending shivers through me. I felt his hesitation at the gesture as his kisses started to slow, so decided to be bold to get my way. I ground my hip into his lap, immediately feeling his cock harden and felt him groan into my mouth, deepening the kiss again. I pulled from his lips, kissing his neck and ear, whispering, "I've missed you kissing me like this all week."

He found my mouth again, ravaging me with his lips while his hand massaged my bare back under my shirt. He finally broke the kiss, whispering back, "you have no idea how many times I've imagined kissing you like this."

We continued sitting there, whispering our forbidden thoughts to each other and exchanging heated kisses, hands wandering to touch bare skin but never going too far.

Finally, hearing some voices in the distance up the shore, we broke apart, both of us breathing heavily at the onslaught of desire the closeness brought.

"Thank you," I finally said, smiling up at him.

He smiled back. "Believe me, it's all my pleasure," he replied, kissing me one more time.

"No," I laughed, trying to clarify my statement. "I mean thank you for everything you've done this week," I finished, suddenly unsure how to express the gratitude I felt toward him.

Understanding crossed his face. "Bella, you don't need to thank me. Whether you were sick or not, I'd still want to see you all the time and be with you," he finished, kissing my hand lightly.

I looked at him, perplexed by his statement. "Why?" I blurted, suddenly nervous about his answer.

He looked at me, brows furrowed, obviously trying to formulate an answer. Finally, he said, "Being with you is like being around a breath of fresh air all the time." I looked at him with even more confusion, liking how his answer sounded, but not understanding it. He continued. "Most girls I've met are more interested in how they look or getting their way. From the moment I met you, even back last summer at Emmett's graduation party, I saw you were more concerned with helping the people around you than yourself."

His reference to last summer caught me off guard. "You remember meeting me last summer at the party?" I asked, stunned by his admission.

"You are not an easy person to forget, Bella," he said, laughing. "I was actually going to ask you out last summer after the blow up with my ex-girlfriend, but you had already left for the summer by the time I got up the courage," he added, looking down as if embarrassed. "When Alice was lamenting about you and Jasper going to the prom, I was the one who suggested we make it a triple date," he added, blushing slightly. Without looking up at my reaction he continued. "I was curious if I had read you correctly last summer, if you really were as selfless and thoughtful as you had seemed and everyone said."

I just stared at him. I had no idea he had these thoughts about me or saw me in such a light. I felt humbled and honored by his words, and they brought tears to my eyes. He finally looked up at me, noting the tears running down my cheeks. "I don't want you to be sad, Bella," he added, brushing a tear with his thumb gently.

I smiled through the tears. "I'm not sad," I said, laughing lightly. "I just feel so blessed at this very moment," I finished, wiping away my tears embarrassedly.

Edward laughed. I looked at him curiously. "Only you, the girl who was puking her guts out last night and who just found out she has cancer, would say she feels blessed," he stated, smiling. I smiled back, and he leaned forward to give me one last kiss before setting me down on my feet. "Let's get you to the house. You've got to be exhausted," he added.

I shivered, suddenly noting how cold it felt all around me. "You're right. We probably should get going," I finished, rubbing my hands up and down my upper arms.

A look of concern crossed Edward's face. "You look a little flushed. Are you feeling any worse than when we left your house?" he asked, pressing his lips up against my forehead.

"It's just cool with the sun finally down," I said, placing my hand on his cheek. "You worry too much, Edward. I'm fine," I added, turning back toward the car.

As we walked back, I felt the world tilt slightly, causing me to stumble. Edward grabbed my arm. "Bella, are you okay?" he asked frantically.

"I don't know," I said, opting for honesty rather than trying to grin and bear it. "I just got dizzy for a second. It might just be another side effect," I added, holding his arm a bit more tightly as we continued on our way.

"We're taking your temp as soon as we get to the house," he stated, helping me into the car. I sat there, trying nonchalantly to put the temp as warm as it could go in the vehicle. I suddenly didn't feel as well as I had when we got to the park. I couldn't seem to get warm, I still had chills even though I had heat blowing directly on me, and my head was starting to hurt. Suddenly I was very scared.


End file.
